Blue Legend: Genesis
by darth-korbo
Summary: When a peaceful island is suddenly threatened by a tyrannical madman, one rebellious youth takes his first step into a land unknown... and begins an incredible journey that will mold him into the greatest hero the world will ever know. Book one of a new series. Rated for safety.
1. Welcome to the Planet

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Dare You To Move" is the property of Switchfoot. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

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Welcome to the Planet

It was springtime. The sun's bright crimson rays were beginning to peek over the horizon, brilliantly reflected off of the deep blue ocean below. As the clear, cloudless sky began to fill with light, the wide variety of aquatic life below the sea became visibly active, leaping and flailing above the surface of the water. The light continued to spread across the endless ocean, illuminating the sparkling white beaches of South Island.

Morning had risen on planet Mobius.

The serene picture was soon broken by a loud crack that seemingly split the atmosphere in two. The culprit of the disturbance suddenly appeared at edge of the beach, traveling at a blinding velocity along the shoreline and leaving a brilliant blue streak of light in its wake. The force of the sudden torrent of wind carried along by the small figure caused nearby palm trees to sway violently with the gusts. Any ordinary passerby paying a first visit to the island would have guessed that any number of natural disasters would be the cause of such an unusual phenomenon. To the island's denizens, however, this phenomenon was anything but unusual.

The figure suddenly came to a screeching halt, kicking up a massive dust cloud as its feet skidded across the sand. The cloud rose in the air, and then finally settled, revealing the figure's many unusual features.

The speedster stood at around three-and-a-half feet tall, completely covered in light cobalt blue fur, save for the light shade of peach covering the skin on its chest, arms, and the inside of the short, pointy ears perched above its large, spherical head. Protruding from the back of its head were several short, razor-sharp spines pointing in various directions. But perhaps the strangest features of this odd figure were the large white gloves covering its hands and the bright red, white-striped shoes on its feet, complete with matching white socks rolled down to its ankles. As far as Mobians went, the critter was clearly a hedgehog-perhaps not the same four-legged mammal familiar to us on our world, but a hedgehog nonetheless.

His large emerald eyes peered over the surface of the water's edge, an arrogant smirk present on his face. All around him was the wide world of South Island. His home, playpen, vacation spot, and stomping ground, all rolled up into one perfect package. The hedgehog clasped his hands together and stretched his short arms as far above his head as he could, hearing the oh-so-satisfying _snap_ of his joints popping slightly. He'd just finished his ritual morning run around the forest a few minutes earlier than usual, giving him the excuse to stretch and enjoy the picture-perfect weather.

Yep, it was gonna be a _goooooood_ day…

"Sonic!"

The familiar sound of Max the Monkey's voice broke the speedster out of his brief reverie. Glancing down the beach towards the amber-colored furry ape running toward him, Sonic the Hedgehog raised a glove-covered hand in greeting. "Maxie!" he exclaimed. "What's happening, bro?"

'Maxie' wrinkled his nose slightly at the ever-unwelcome nickname, but accepted Sonic's high-five. "Where've you been? Did you forget already?"

"No. Forget what?"

"Dude, Sharps wanted to jam earlier this morning! You were gonna cut your run shorter for that? Remember?"

Sonic leaned his head back on his clasped hands and turned back to the ocean. "Yep," he replied.

"You- wait, what?" Max cocked his head to the side. "You knew?"

"O'course."

"Then what-"

"Dude," Sonic faced Max again, still grinning. "This is my 'ME' time." He waggled his pointer finger in the monkey's face, one of the hedgehog's favorite poses. "You don't mess with Sonic's 'me' time. Especially if you're a stuck-up chicken like Sharps."

Max visibly relaxed, Sonic's charm having obviously worked. "That's pretty much what I told him. But you know how Sharps is with jamming…"

"…He doesn't take no for an answer." Sonic rubbed his pointer finger under his nose, his usual bodily response whenever agitated. "Y'know what? It's a nice day out. I'm gonna take another lap."

"W-what?" Max sputtered, his eyes trailing after Sonic as the speedster began jogging down the beach. "But wait! What am I supposed to tell-?"

"I-I can't hear you, man!" Sonic called from over his shoulder, "the, uh… wind is too loud!"

His mouth agape, Max could only stare after the blue blur as his silhouette disappeared over the horizon. Frowning a bit, he turned and shuffled down the edge of the beach with his head hanging low in thought, wondering exactly how he would bail out the self-obsessed hedgehog this time.

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	2. Two Colours In My Head

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Everything In Its Right Place" is the property of Radiohead. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

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Two Colours In My Head

South Island didn't have many settlements, its population being relatively sparse. Each remained decidedly independent of one another, with the only interactions between villages consisting of minor intrusions: distant relatives visiting, traders dropping by with various goods or services, and so on. As secluded and isolated as each town was, though, none were as secluded or isolated as Knothole village.

Being constantly surrounded by trees and heavy underbrush had a habit of conveying a sense of being "boxed in" to Knothole's inhabitants, but for the most part that was the entire point of the matter. Knothole had become a safe haven for Mobians everywhere to start a new life, bask in eternal peace and quiet, or simply hide from the world and never be found.

All that was exactly what Sonic needed, and he dug it all.

At least he did once. Hiding from the rest of the world had worked out fine for him so far, but lately Knothole and South Island had begun growing far too small.

Normally Sonic would top his morning off with a rambunctious dash through the town square on the way to the gang's secret hideout, complete with the inevitable mix of angry protests and cries of admiration from the villagers. Today though, he was in a generous mood. Maybe he would let the late-risers sleep in a little longer, at least for a short while. After all, it would simply be far too criminal for Sonic to withhold from his neighbors the privilege of witnessing his greatness.

Grinning from ear to ear, Sonic raced along the outskirts of Knothole, gracefully dodging tree roots and loose branches as he searched for the specific oak trunk that marked the entrance to his hideout. Spotting it to his left, he skidded to a halt and looked skyward, inspecting the tree: a large southern red oak, with strong, healthy branches and enough leaves to shade the immediate area from harsh sunlight or heavy rain. The tree was completely inconspicuous save for two features: it's location next to a large hollow tree stump, and two tiny letters carved into the side of the trunk, "KD," courtesy of Sonic's posse. Any Mobian that didn't know what he or she was looking for would have passed it off as completely ordinary forest flora, but years of habit kept Sonic and the gang coming to this exact spot. This was the place.

Sonic rushed to the base of the tree trunk, bending one of the lower-hanging branches upward in order to reveal a previously hidden, unnatural knot embedded into the bark. Glancing over his shoulder and checking if the coast was clear, the hedgehog grabbed the knot, twisted it a quarter turn clockwise, and pressed it into the trunk. At that instant, the top layer of the nearby tree stump sprang open on its hinge like a tin can, revealing the secret slide entrance to the gang's hideout.

Sonic's grin widened. Say what you would about Sharps, you had to love his talent for tinkering.

Without another thought, he leaped feet first into the hole and down the great oak slide. A few dips, corkscrews and turns later, he launched himself out the other end of the slide, dusted himself off, and looked around the room he landed in.

The hideout was roughly twenty feet underground, dug deep enough to thoroughly keep away any prying eyes. With the exception of a handful of smaller bedrooms dug out to the sides, it consisted only of one chamber large enough to serve as their base of "operations:" lounging, playing video games, and plotting pranks on the other neighborhood kids (and occasionally adults). The room looked just as one might expect with five pre-teen Mobians living there, organized in a sort of controlled chaos, complete with a large television set, creaky tables, floor mats scattered around in the dirt, and a few beat-up sofas that had either been thrown away by the other Knothole residents or "borrowed" by the gang.

At the moment, the room was set up for their other hobby: rocking out. Present for the earlier mentioned jam session was Max, restringing the D string on his sky blue bass, Mach the Rabbit, a young bubblegum-pink bunny sitting behind the gang's trashed, half-functional drum set, and Sharps the Chicken, a red-crested fowl with a craze for punk rock and the talent to back it up. Deciding it was time to get his subjects' attention, Sonic obnoxiously cleared his throat.

"Ladies and Germs," he announced, bending forward in a mock bow, "Sonic has entered the building! Hold your applause, please."

There was a short silence.

"I'm swooning," a shrill, irritated voice suddenly replied, "but he should've gotten his blue behind in here two hours ago!"

Sonic looked up from his doubled over position and frowned at the chicken lounging on one of the couches. "Well, excuuuuuuse me, princess! I don't see anyone else here complaining about my daily routine. That's my-"

"Your 'me' time, right, got it," Sharps finally relented, replacing his orange aviator sunglasses on the tip of his beak. Why the guy bothered wearing shades indoors, Sonic would never figure out.

"Yeah, you lay off, Sharps!" piped in Mach, jumping up from his seat at the drums. "Sonic's the coolest EVER! He can do what he wants!" Sharps scowled, looking up from re-tuning his guitar, but didn't say a word of protest.

"_Thank_ you!" Sonic exclaimed, clapping his hands together with a sense of finality. "See, guys? Mach here's got it figured out!" He pointed to the rabbit, who was positively beaming with admiration. "You should both take a few more cues from him, wouldn'cha say?" Not waiting for an answer from his bandmates, Sonic turned to the wall behind him, where his cherry red electric guitar was mounted.

When the suggestion had been made long ago for the gang to start up a rock band, everybody had excitedly thrown himself into the project. Sharps, in particular, knew a thing or two about music from wherever he had come from (though Sonic wasn't completely sure where that was) and spent months putting together the makeshift instruments everyone used. With Sharps on guitar, Max's slightly larger fingers prevented him from playing anything other than bass, while Mach was too young to do anything other than bang on anything within reach. Granted, this got the band off to a _rough_ start, but the guys needed a drummer, and even Sharps had to admit that Mach had come a long, long way from beating the cymbals into shrapnel months ago.

That left Sonic, who promptly picked his favorite spot: lead vocals and lead guitar. Nobody dared object.

The issue of a band name, however, proved much more divisive. While Sharps had personally preferred the name "Forget Me Knots," in honor of the town's name and flower, Sonic predictably thought the name was "stupid" and wanted to stick with the gang's name, "The Knotty Dogs," which really wasn't much better.

"Y'know," Max retorted jokingly to the hedgehog's question, "if you hadn't just told us to take cues from a _four year old_… we might actually take you seriously."

"I'm not four!" Mach shouted, "I'm six! How many time do I have to-"

"Oh, please," Max laughed, "you know none of us can even remember your name, Mike." He paused. "See, that's funny because your name's _Mach_…"

"Dudes," Sonic cut in, slightly annoyed that the conversation had taken him out of the spotlight, "save the banter for later. Time to jam, Sam!"

* * *

They were halfway through their third tune when another figure burst through the slide.

"G-guys," he stuttered, eyes wide open with shock, "N-Nate, he…"

"Woah, Ray," Sharps interrupted, putting a wing on the young squirrel's shoulder, "slow down! What's up with Nate?"

Ray, like Mach, stood at about a head shorter than the older members of the gang. He was covered in mustard yellow fur, though like most Mobians, he showed light colored skin on his chest, face and arms. Nothing about his features truly stood out besides the thin layers of skin stretching in the space under his armpits. Though Ray wasn't particularly sure where the skin had come from, as he had never met his parents, he still managed to put them to use and glide from trees and rooftops with the help of his long, curly tail. This behavior earned him the nickname, "Ray the Flying Squirrel." He was at least glad the guys were too distracted by his gliding trick to call him out on his obvious speech impediment.

"It's Nate!" Ray finally squeaked, jumping up and down in excitement. "He's just showed off his newest p-project… it's this awesome p-p-plane!"

"Seriously?!" Sonic bolted upright, suddenly not in the mood for music anymore. "Oh, I am _so_ there." He dashed over to hang his guitar back on its mount when a loud cough interrupted him.

"_Sooooniiic…"_

The hedgehog turned back to his gang, noting Sharps' unmistakable glare from beneath his sunglasses.

"Oh, right," Sonic said, clearing his throat loudly. He stood up straighter and spoke in a commanding tone: "Gentlemen-and whatever Sharps is-I, as your very own Sonic the Hedgehog, speedster and axe-grinder extraordinaire, declare this jam session dually closed. On account of something more interesting happening. Ciao!"

"_Hey_!" Sharps barked in protest, watching Sonic crack a grin as he bolted back up the great oak slide.


	3. Free as a Birdplane

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Free Bird" and "Birdplane" are the properties of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Axis of Awesome, respectively.**** I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

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Free as a Birdplane

Thank the maker for super speed.

Sonic didn't even know where his talent had come from, but he didn't care. Maybe it was a lab accident. Maybe it was genetic. If he still knew and/or cared about his parents, he probably would have asked them about it before he ran away from home all those years ago. But as far as Sonic was concerned, he was as far away from his oppressive parental figures as possible, free as a bird, and that was just fine with him.

As he sped back up the great oak slide, his thoughts wandered towards Nate's new creation. Nate was an elderly but brilliant black bear who owned the town's workshop, mostly spending his days either fixing the villagers' machines or creating new ones. Until recently, the most exciting thing to come out of Nate's shop was a prototype renewable energy source he dubbed a "power ring." It was a promising project, but Nate only lamented that unless he found the "right ingredient," the rings would run out of energy far too quickly. Now, though, Nate's new flying contraption would likely be the talk of the town for quite some time.

Sonic leapt out of the tree stump and made a beeline for the workshop, cutting straight through Knothole square on his way. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you were Sonic) it was still relatively early in the afternoon, so few villagers were loitering around in his way to see the plane. No bothersome crowds to deal with, but also no audience for the ruckus he had been planning that morning. Ah, well.

Since Nate's hadn't technically opened for business yet, Sonic was thankfully able to reach the workshop before any kind of crowd was able to form. Of course, since news of the new invention was likely spreading at that very moment, the masses would undoubtedly begin congregating on the old bear's doorstep all too soon. For now, Sonic was content to run straight to the customer booth in front of the shop and begin obnoxiously pounding the bell on the counter.

"NAAAAAAAATE!" the speedster hollered, "I know you're in there! C'mon show me the-"

"Blast it, my boy, I'm standing right here!"

Sonic's head snapped up, his emerald eyes meeting a pair of dark brown eyes. "Uh…"

Nate smiled, adjusting the glasses perched on his nose. "Have you ever considered slowing down once in a while, Sonic? Perhaps then you would be able to see where you're going."

Sonic broke out of his stunned silence and scoffed. "Please, old man. You don't know me at all, talking like that!"

Nate chuckled, his deep voice rumbling through the booth. "Perhaps one day you'll understand. Now, what can I do for you on this fine day?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sonic jumped up onto the counter in his excitement. "Is it true? You really built a new-"

"Hush," Nate whispered, cupping his paw over his muzzle. "That's supposed to be a secret!" He looked side to side, his brown eyes carefully scanning the area behind Sonic. "Follow me."

Sonic grinned, leaping over the counter. Besides Sonic's Uncle Chuck back home, Nate had the distinction of being one of the only adults that the hedgehog considered "cool" in his book. Time and again, the gang would find themselves getting in trouble with the other residents of Knothole, anything from breaking one of the windows of Mayor Acorn's house (which had been an accident) to leaving a large graffiti picture on the schoolhouse of Sonic making an obscene gesture (which _hadn't_). Whatever the damage, the gang would occasionally find themselves unable to return to the hideout, and Nate's workshop had been the only other safe haven for them. Any other adult would have turned the boys into the authorities. Nate just made them clean their own messes.

While Sonic certainly wasn't complaining about the "second chances," he couldn't help but think that the old bear was simply helping them in the hopes of turning them "legit," whatever that meant. _Not me, though, _Sonic thought, smirking to himself.

"I should let you know," Nate said as he unlocked the door to the workshop, "this is still a work in progress. I wasn't going to show anyone until-"

"Yeah, yeah, don't tell anyone, I get it," Sonic replied, too eager to listen. "Just lemme see!"

Nate smiled. "One moment."

They stepped into the shop's garage, a cramped space made even smaller by a large structure covered by a dark sheet. Nate grabbed a corner of the fabric and yanked it off the machine.

Under the cover was a vintage-style, single-bay biplane, complete with a large propeller on the nose and a single-seat cockpit protected by a small windshield. The plane had obviously not been painted yet; in fact the entire hull looked like Nate had simply welded together various metal plates, giving the entire structure a homemade patchwork feel. Still, it was the first time Sonic had ever seen a working aircraft up close before, and it was the most amazing machine he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Say hello to _Winged Victory_, Sonic," Nate finally said, turning to the star-struck hedgehog and giving him a warm smile.

"_Duuuuuude_!" Sonic cried, his mouth agape, "This is _awesome_! Can I give it a try? Pleasepleasepleaseplease_pleeeeeease_?"

Nate wrinkled his nose a little. He wasn't sure what was stranger: Sonic's request or the fact that the kid had actually said _please_. "Now let me get this straight," he said slowly, "you want me to let you, Sonic the Hedgehog, pilot my latest project, one that I've spent well over a couple years putting together, before I've even had the chance to test it? Or even finish it?"

"YES!"

Nate paused, letting an exasperated look cross his face. "You're serious? This coming from the kid who broke the Mayor's window…"

Sonic froze. "Hey, that was an accident!"

"…ran over Miss Daisy's cat…"

"C'mon, she came out of nowh-"

"…caused the bridge to collapse…"

"Aw, c'mon Nate!" Sonic pleaded, "I can be careful this time!"

"That's not really my point," Nate said firmly. "You're always getting into trouble, Sonic. Granted, I've been there to bail you out when necessary, but…" The old bear crossed his arms. "You're out of control m'boy. You have little to no respect for rules or authority of any kind. You and your little gang are completely reckless. And above all… your whole life, you've only cared about one thing: yourself." Sonic opened his mouth, about to protest, but Nate silenced him with a raised paw. "Don't try lying to this old coot, son. I had you from the beginning. Why else would you have never mentioned your parents? Or where you came from before you joined that little gang of yours?"

Sonic groaned. He _really_ wasn't in the mood for a lecture, especially not with _Winged Victory _sitting there and teasing him. "What does it matter, Nate? I just… I can't _stand_ following rules! I'm the fastest thing in the universe; I can do whatever I want! Why should I have to do whatever somebody tells me to do, anyway? It's so boring, so stupid, so… _uncool_." He waggled his finger. "And I'm _always_ cool."

"Let me tell you something I should've mentioned the day I met you, son." Nate said, sitting on a nearby stool. "When I was about your age, I was just like you. I was smarter than all the other kids, so I thought I was entitled to whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. My parents thought otherwise, and always kept me on a tight leash. I know now that they only wanted to protect me, but back then…"

He trailed off, sighing deeply before continuing. "Anyway, I ran away from home, same as you did. Only difference is, I had somebody with me: my big brother Eddy. He followed me as soon as I left, trying to convince me to turn back, but I kept refusing. Eventually he gave up, but he stayed with me to protect me until I changed my mind." Nate chuckled. "Eddy may not have had my brains, but he could bench press a building without breaking a sweat, yessiree."

Sonic tapped his foot, quickly growing impatient. _Geez, what's this guy getting at?_

"Eventually we made it to Mobius' Southern Tundra," Nate continued. "There Eddy finally put his foot down. He told me that despite all my smarts, I was an idiot, and that I was going back home even if he had to carry me. I finally couldn't stand the nagging. We had a fight… I said horrible things." He paused. "I'm not sure what caused it, but at that moment, the mountain began to have an avalanche and the cave we were staying in started to collapse. Everything after that is fuzzy… old age, you see… but I can clearly remember Eddy standing in the middle of the cave, holding the roof with his bare hands to keep it from falling and let me escape."

Sonic was pretty sure he was supposed to feel sad, but all he could really feel was discomfort growing from deep within his chest. He fervently wished the old bear would just stop talking and let him try out the plane.

"I had just enough time to make it out of that nightmare alive. Eddy didn't. I headed straight home afterwards, and had plenty of time to think about what happened." Nate leaned forward and looked the uncomfortable hedgehog dead in the eye. "From then on, Sonic, I knew that I had to use my smarts to _help_ people-including you and your gang-the same way Eddy used his strength to save my life. And more importantly, I learned that success in life doesn't come without a price, whether it be time, money, the life of a loved one… or _pride_."

He raised an eyebrow and said, "now you're… oh, how old? Eleven?"

"Twelve."

"Of course," Nate nodded. "So you're plenty old enough to decide for yourself what you'll do. But mark my words, Sonic: you'll have to make that decision, not me. And the price may be high. Do you understand what I'm saying, son?"

Thankfully for Sonic, lying to an authority figure was another one of his talents.

"Of course!" he said, giving the old bear a false grin. "You can count on me, Nate!"

"You're certain?" Nate paused, and then stood up, apparently satisfied. "Well, then. I'll tell you what: come by the workshop every weekend and, if you and the gang can stay out of trouble for the week, I'll start giving you flying lessons."

"YEEEEEAH!" Sonic pumped his fist in the air triumphantly. "You, my man, are the coolest-"

"_Only_ if you can stay out of trouble." Nate repeated calmly. He gave Sonic a playful look. "That shouldn't be too hard for you, now, would it?"

* * *

Predictably, the rest of the Knotty Dogs arrived a few minutes later to marvel at the plane. Mach and Ray ran excitedly around the machine in a craze, Sharps talked Nate's ear off with questions, and Max simply stood in awe, trying to take everything in but not quite managing to wrap his mind around it all.

Soon everybody was back outside, sitting in the outdoor booth and drinking sodas from Nate's fridge. Already a line had been formed outside the shop, filled with anxious villagers wanting to catch a glimpse of Nate's new project, much to the inventor's disappointment. Indeed, _Winged Victory_ was all the gang could talk about for hours.

"It was HUGE!" Mach cried, falling off his stool in excitement.

"C-can't believe he actually b-built that himself!" said Ray as he bounced in his seat.

"Man, if only Mighty and Vector were still here to see this…" Max sighed.

"Forget about Mighty and Vector, dude," Sonic interjected. "This is my… I mean, _our_ gang now! And we got to be the first ones in Knothole to see that way-past-cool plane!"

"Here, here!" Sharps shouted, raising his glass bottle.

It was late afternoon by now, and Sonic could already hear most of the general populace going about their business around Knothole Square. Amidst the general chatter, he could pick up snippets of words such as "invention," "machines," and even "alien monster."

Sonic rolled his eyes. Before Nate had (almost) completed _Winged Victory_, something very different had been the talk of the town. Settlements and villages across South Island were disappearing one by one. Any scouts sent out for reconnaissance would only return to report the same thing: a complete village burned to the ground with no visible survivors or corpses whatsoever, and no clues as to what the cause might be or where it was headed next. All that could be confirmed was that the crimes must have been committed by something not of Mobian origin, leading many to believe that South Island was under attack by extra-terrestrials.

While Sonic normally would have been a sucker for stories and rumors of an impending alien invasion, at the moment he was far too enamored with thoughts of _Winged Victory_, as well as his opportunity to pilot a real live plane one day soon. Besides, if the island was under attack, Knothole was far too hidden and isolated to be a serious target, which was just fine with Sonic. _Though the new curfew and stricter security of the border hasn't made things any easier, _he thought with a grimace.

"So Sonic," Max cut in, sidling up next to the hedgehog, "what were you and Nate talking about earlier? You know, before we got here?"

Sonic looked around, seeing the entire gang's eyes on him, waiting earnestly for his response. He smirked. As much as he would have loved to gloat about his eventual flight on _Winged Victory_, he probably would better enjoy the attention of making his gang sweat a little while waiting for the answer. For now, it would be his little secret.

He leaned back against the booth counter, gulping down the last of his soda and stretching his arms over his head.

"Man, if you guys _only_ knew!"

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**EDIT: Had to fix some formatting. Also, I've removed the short prologue and I'm planning on writing another. Stay tuned...**

**A/N: Reviews are awesome. Leave me one!**


	4. The Metal

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"The Metal" is the property of Tenacious D. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

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The Metal

They looked… happy.

It didn't make sense.

Sonic snorted in irritation from his hidden spot up in the tree. What was the big deal? It was just a boring old building full of boring old ladies teaching boring old stuff. Not to mention the _rules…_

Still, all the kids below him were talking, laughing, singing and skipping all the way down to the schoolhouse for the day. And they looked so… happy.

He stood up, ready to leap from his branch. Those kids obviously didn't have a clue how sweet freedom was. _One day they'll see. And then they won't look so happy anymore._

He sprang from his hiding spot, and the next thing he knew he was zipping from tree to tree, swinging off branches and somersaulting through the air, traveling deeper into the Great Forest.

His spines were blowing in the wind. His stomach did corkscrews in his chest. His mind was absolute bliss. He felt free. _This _was the life, and no misguided children were going to convince him otherwise.

His thoughts began to drift back to Knothole. It had been three weeks since he made his deal with Nate, and Sonic had managed to keep his gang surprisingly well behaved for the most part. Granted, he hadn't mentioned the deal to the guys yet, fearing that they would want to get in on the lessons and steal his thunder. Instead, he relied on more frequent jam sessions and a handful of new video games to keep everyone distracted enough to stay out of trouble. As a result, Nate kept his promise and started tutoring Sonic on the art of flight, and at the rate he was going, he'd be sure to start piloting _Winged Victory_ within a couple months.

As his attention returned to the present, he couldn't help but feel that the weather was celebrating his good fortune along with him. The sky was clear, the air was crisp, the sun was reflecting off the metal figure to his-

Sonic froze mid-leap, his head whipping around to locate the source of the flash. Spotting it to the left, he jumped to the forest floor to get a closer look. What he saw made his jaw drop.

The machine was six feet tall, humanoid, and armed to the teeth. Its shiny chrome exterior was well polished but slightly worn from wandering around the forest for who knew how long. As it turned its smooth triangular head to look at him, Sonic could see that the robot had no eyes, but a thin red sensor bar on its "face." The robot faced Sonic, paused, and then began to speak:

UNIDENTIFIED LIFEFORM DETECTED IN IMMEDIATE VICINITY

SCANNING…

SPECIES RECOGNIZED AS _ERINACEUS MOBIUS_

EXACT IDENTITY UNKNOWN

QUERY: IDENTIFY

Sonic, who was still too busy wrapping his mind around what he was seeing to pay attention, had remained remarkably still and silent throughout the entire exchange. To top it all off, he had no idea what any of those words meant. It was no surprise that all he could do in response to the robot's question was let out a weak, "wuh…?"

SUBJECT UNCOOPERATIVE

REPEATING QUERY: _**IDENTIFY**_

At this, the robot raised its right arm, revealing a powerful-looking laser weapon, and pointed it directly at Sonic. The hedgehog, for his part, composed himself, stared the robot down and cocked his head to the side. "You're not from around here, are you?" he responded, somewhat convinced that this thing was partly responsible for sending the whole island into a tizzy.

UNIDENTIFIED LIFEFORM CONFIRMED AS HOSTILE

NEW OBJECTIVE: CAPTURE AND RETURN TO CREATOR

LAUNCHING COMBAT RUNTIME LIBRARY ALPHA 3-5G

The robot's final sentence was Sonic's first clue. Seeing the laser on its arm begin glowing a bright red was his second.

_Uh, oh…_

He had just enough time to leap out of the way of the blast, landing on all fours a few feet to his right. Glancing back at the now-smoking spot where he jumped from, he knew that had he been a split-second late, that laser would have easily turned him into a pile of smoldering charred chunks.

He looked back at the robot and couldn't help but crack a grin. "See, _now _you're speaking a language I can understa—_whoa_!"

This time he felt the heat of the laser singeing the fur on his back as he hit the dirt. This thing wasn't messing around. He looked back up, ready to give the robot another smart retort, only to get a metallic kick to the chin that knocked him several feet backwards. _How did that thing get so close so quickly?_

"Alright, _that_ does it!" Sonic snarled, rubbing the bruise on his chin. He really didn't know what this thing's beef with him was, but it picked the wrong punching bag. "No more Mister Nice 'Hog!" Throwing caution to the wind, he ran straight at the robot and gave it a swift roundhouse kick to the abdomen.

"_Yeeeeowch_!" He cried, hopping on one foot while clutching his sore one. That thing had been rock solid. While Sonic had felt the impact all the way through his shoe, the attack had apparently not left a dent in the robot's armor.

TARGET THREAT LEVEL DROPPING

PROCEEDING TO SUBDUE

The robot's fist was raised high above its head, ready to smash it into the hedgehog's back. This time though, Sonic was ready for it. Thinking fast, he back flipped out of the way of the attack, letting it shatter the topsoil beneath it. Then, ignoring the ache in his foot, he backed up several feet, took a running start to gather as much momentum as he could, and leaped straight into the robot's body with both feet. Again, the blow left the machine without a scratch, but the sheer force of the impact was enough to knock it flat on its back. Sonic, on the other hand, let his knees take the brunt of the shock before flipping backwards as the robot fell, leaving him unhurt and prepared to strike again.

TARGET THREAT LEVEL RISING

ADAPTING TO NEW DATA

Sonic racked his brain for ideas. That robot was getting up soon, and he needed a way to shut it down for good. He could almost subconsciously feel the quills on his head flare in and out in response to his sudden adrenaline rush. Maybe…

He looked up just in time to see the robot bearing down on him again, this time putting its full weight behind its deadly punch. Time slowed to a crawl, and Sonic could admit that other than try to dodge again, he was out of options. Trying to use fisticuffs on the iron giant would be like trying to chop wood with a plastic water bottle, but he needed to counterattack somehow. Didn't this stupid thing have some kind of soft spot?

With nothing to lose, Sonic instinctively leaped straight into his opponent's steel chest, curling into a ball and letting his quills flare out in every direction. To his surprise, the unorthodox move worked like a charm, knocking the robot flat on its back again with its torso finally showing signs of damage.

Sonic uncurled himself, speechless, and looked down at his hands. Where had _that_ come from?

ANALYZING…

ANALYZING…

DAMAGE TO UNIT APPROACHING CRITICAL

LAUNCHING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL-

"Oh no, you don't!" Sonic yelled triumphantly. Feeling adventurous after his successful stunt, he took a running start, jumped, curled himself into another ball and slammed into his fallen opponent, this time aiming for the head.

He couldn't see exactly what happened, but he certainly felt it. The robot's head unit crumbled under his weight, his quills cleanly slicing through the circuitry underneath. What remained of his opponent was a broken metal torso with sparking wires jutting out of its "neck."

Sonic uncurled himself and landed on his feet, looking over the broken bot. He couldn't help but laugh out loud, enjoying his victory before turning away towards Knothole. _I guess you __**can**__ kill metal! Wait'll the gang hears about this…_

A sudden crunching sound stopped him in his tracks. _Is it… getting back up?_ He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see his enemy put up one last fight. Instead, he got a bigger surprise: the heavily battered hull of the robot was falling apart, piece-by-piece. Sonic watched in shock as its chest area finally split apart, revealing the hollow chamber underneath.

At least, it would've been hollow, if a very dazed, very dirty and very exhausted grey rabbit hadn't stumbled out of the robot's chassis.

And with that last image burned into his brain, Sonic finally came to a valid conclusion: he was losing it.

"W-where…" the rabbit groaned in a small yet raspy voice, squinting as he took in his surroundings, "where am I?" His eyes finally settled on a bewildered blue hedgehog. "Who are you?"

Sonic wasn't sure which question to address first without putting his brain on overload. He settled for a stunned silence.

"The—the others!" The small animal suddenly gasped. "My family...!"

Now that Sonic had a good look at it, he recognized it as a rabbit from the Turquoise Lake zone. A large number of smaller rodents had set up a thriving community near there, much like the rest of South Island. But that zone was on the other side of the island. Why would this little guy be all the way over here?

"Woah, easy there!" Sonic finally said, holding his hands up. "What are you talking about? Why were you in the…?"

"It was that monster!" the rabbit cried hysterically. "He—he took us all… burned our homes… stuck us inside those machines…!"

_Wait… there are more?_

"Look, uh…" Sonic said, not really wanting to get involved but knowing the creature was obviously having a rough day, "you need help, man. Why don't I just-"

But the traumatized lagomorph was beyond listening now, running off in the opposite direction. "I have to go!" Sonic heard him wail. "H-have to… warn everyone…!"

"H-hey!" Sonic shouted, but he was too late. Mobian rabbits were quick little creatures, and although Sonic could've easily chased him down, there was no way to determine which direction he went after he disappeared into the underbrush. And frankly, Sonic wasn't really in the mood to track down a runaway mental patient. His best bet would be to notify the authorities in Knothole (via Nate, of course) and let them deal with the problem.

"Well," he finally said, dusting his hands off and walking in the direction of Knothole, "glad that's over with!"

* * *

**A/N: First action scenes are rough to write... why not leave a review and let me know how I did?**


	5. I am the Eggman

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"I Am the Walrus" is the property of The Beatles. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

I Am the Eggman

It wasn't over with.

It all started the following morning: Sonic was already up and pulling his shoes on when Sharps burst out of his room, letting out a loud belch. "Man, that tuna sandwich tasted _so_ much better the second time!" he snickered.

Sonic looked up from his seat on the couch, shoe halfway tied. "One: you're welcome. Two: that burp sucked and I could've done one twice as epic in my sleep. And three: _tuna_? Gross, man!"

"Keep it down, dudes!" Max yelled from the other side of the room, "I got Bowser on the ropes!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. Max needed a better taste in games.

"Forget you guys!" Sharps retorted. "If either of you spent half the time you waste on video games or _running around like a lame-o_," he eyed Sonic under his shades with a sneer, "you wouldn't be so flat during jam time!"

"We're not flat!" Max called, pausing his game. "You're just too sharp, _Sharps_."

Sighing, Sonic got up and made his way to the Great Oak Slide. "Much as I'd love to wax poetic with you losers, I gotta split. My kingdom awaits."

"Oh, but be careful!" Sharps suddenly called from behind him. "Wouldn't want you to run into any more scaaaaaary killer robots! _Oooooooooo…"_ he cackled.

Sonic growled under his breath, but kept walking. After telling the gang about his totally epic fight with the robot, the only one who believed him was Mach. A friggin' _six-year-old._ Where the heck did they think he'd gotten all those bruises and bumps, falling down some stairs?

"Yeah," Max snorted from the TV set, "and make sure you don't trip down any more stairs, either!"

_Go figure._

"Shut it before I throw you down a flight," Sonic barked back. And he was off, shooting up the Great Oak Slide in search of a new adventure.

Ten minutes and sixty-four miles later, Sonic heard the scream.

It wasn't a particularly loud or blood-curdling scream, but Sonic's ears were just sensitive enough to catch anything that high-pitched within about a hundred yards. With nothing better to do, he decided to investigate.

In his twelve years of life (Mobian time), Sonic didn't have too many outstanding memories. Discovering his super speed, running away from home, finding Knothole, and playing his guitar for the first time probably qualified as his top four defining moments. What followed after his pursuit of the scream would quickly become number five.

It happened in a large clearing near the edge of the forest. The first thing he noticed was the large machine parked several yards from where he was standing. It was simple in nature, with a shiny chrome finish and a spherical shape that reminded Sonic of that old Saturday morning cartoon he used to watch featuring little green aliens—a "UFO," they called it. When Sonic saw who (or _what_) was sitting in the open cockpit of the machine, the irony was not lost on him.

Sitting in the machine was a tall, plump creature with a small head and a round body that shared a striking resemblance to an egg. It wore tight black pants pulled up to its waist and a red overcoat decorated with yellow streaks at its collar. The creature itself was very light-skinned and completely bald, save for a large patch of brown fur drooping over where its mouth should've been. Rounding out the creature's odd ensemble was a pair of dark glasses perched on its large red nose.

Sonic was absolutely convinced. Everything about this creature just screamed it. Freaky. Not native to the island. _Alien._

He heard the cry for help again, which turned his attention to what the alien was holding. Clenched between its giant, glove-covered fingers was a blue Flicky, a small bird native to an island just west of South Island, though they had colonies scattered all across Mobius. All Sonic could tell about this particular bird was that it was female (judging by the lighter coloration on its breast) and continuing to struggle and flap against its tormentor, chirping and shrieking in its native language.

"Pipe down, you stupid bird," the alien grunted, apparently trying to wrestle the poor thing into his machine. It had a strange accent, pronouncing some of its words in a funny way, but Sonic could still definitely understand it. "Someone might hear you…"

Having seen enough, Sonic decided to make his presence known. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Y'know, I'm not sure how many dates you've been on, but when a lady says 'no,' it means _no_."

Not his best one-liner, considering it was ripped straight out of a movie he saw, but it got the alien's attention.

Ignoring the Flicky's noisy protests, the alien locked eyes with the hedgehog. For a long moment, neither moved an inch.

"Well," the alien broke the silence, clearing its throat, "it, ah…appears that I've missed one of the big ones. No matter. I'll deal with you later, _rat_." It turned back to its struggling prey.

Sonic's eyebrow twitched. He had a long list of pet peeves, and this…_thing_ had just crossed his top two: don't ignore Sonic and _**don't **_call him anything other than a hedgehog.

"Woah, woah, _woah_," he protested, taking a step forward, "watch it tubbs. It's 'hedgehog.' HEDGE. HOG. Get the picture? _Hey!"_ he took another step, "_I'm talkin' to you!"_

The alien slowly turned back to him, silent for a moment. "…You can understand me?"

Sonic groaned in irritation. Well at least he was _finally_ getting somewhere. He nodded sourly.

"Ah, it seems that my time studying the Mobian language has finally paid off!" The alien said, obviously pleased with itself. "Well I hate to be rude, _Mr. Hedgehog_, but I'm afraid I'm behind schedule as it is, so if you don't mind-" he pulled a small, disk-like gadget from his cockpit,"-this adorable little bird and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

Sonic watched, half out of curiosity and half out of disbelief, as the Flicky was placed squarely in the center of the alien's gadget. It quickly pulled its hand away from the device, allowing a light-green force field to spark to life, trapping the Flicky inside. Cackling softly, the alien then pressed a button on the console of its cockpit, opening a compartment on the side of the machine it was riding in and revealing…another robot.

The alien bent over the side of the cockpit to place its frightened prisoner in the chassis of the robot, which automatically whirred shut and allowed Sonic to get a good look at its true form. Unlike the one he had conquered the day before, this robot was small, light, and simple. It looked sort of like an oversized ladybug, with its red-painted hull and small violet head decorated with two antennae. However, it also lacked legs, instead rolling about on a single large wheel, and had no visible offensive capabilities outside of the short pincers on the front of its body. The robot sprang to life and rolled to its master's side.

"Say hello to Motobug, _rodent_," the alien sneered. "A fine creation, is it not?"

Sonic could still feel his jaw practically hitting the ground. "That… Flicky…" he managed to sputter, "What… what did you do to it? Where'd it go?"

"Silly hedgehog," the alien laughed, grinning from ear to ear, "It hasn't _gone _anywhere! It's right here! And yet—it isn't."

Sonic frowned deeply. "If you haven't noticed, freak show, I don't speak _gibberish_. Why don't you just do me a favor and start making sense?" He was liking this alien guy less and less every second. "Who are you? Where are you from?"

"Of course, where are my manners?" it replied. The alien gave an overdramatic bow from his spot in the cockpit. "My name is Doctor Julian Ivo Kintobor, the greatest scientific mind of my species. Most who know me have given me a number of silly little nicknames—though I've grown rather fond of 'Dr. Robotnik.' 'Kintobor' in reverse, see? I'd say it's rather fitting!" the doctor chuckled, looking back at the irritated hedgehog with an odd gleam in his eye.

"As for where I'm from," Dr. Robotnik continued, "I'd say that doesn't matter anymore. I'm here, you're there, and here we are now, the two of us." By the tone in his voice, one would have thought the two strangers were simply discussing the weather. It was as if Robotnik had never trapped an innocent creature and stuck it inside a robot monster.

Sonic scratched his head. "Yeah, but-"

"As much as I am enjoying this idle chatter, rodent," Robotnik interrupted, "I am afraid that I must get back to work. Luckily you've already saved me a substantial amount of legwork, though."

…_Should I tell him that he's not using his legs? And by the looks of his figure, not for a long while?_

Robotnik turned to his new robot. "Motobug, subdue this blue hedgehog and bring him to me, please. I would prefer him in one piece."

ACKNOWLEDGED

Sonic didn't even hesitate. This thing was obviously made out of the same material as his opponent from the day before, only with a flimsier design. This would be a cakewalk.

Without missing a beat, the blue blur took a running start at the charging robot, jumped as high as he could, and spun into a ball, quills flaring. One strike to the head later, and Motobug burst apart with a distinctive 'pop.' Sonic landed on his feet and looked up just in time to watch the captured Flicky fly away, looking frightened but completely unhurt.

"Y'know, doc," Sonic gloated, turning towards his audience, "that guy I trashed yesterday put up much more of a fight. That was just _pathetic_!"

Now it was Robotnik's turn to look speechless. "How…it…you…so_ fast_…!"

"Dude, what'd I say about gibberish?" Sonic smirked, waggling his finger at the stunned doctor.

Finally something seemed to click, and Robotnik's expression morphed from stunned to enraged. "_You_!" he spat, "_You're_ the one who destroyed my swatbot sentry!"

"Swatbot, eh?" Sonic cocked his head to the side, still grinning. "Well, you could definitely go with a better name, but… yep. I definitely did that." His eyes drifted towards the sky. "That swatbot had an animal inside it, too," he mused aloud. "Lemme guess: you need animals inside the robots in order for them to work? That's why you've been attacking homes and villages all over the island?"

Robotnik sat back in his seat, still scowling but considerably calmer. "Quite clever, hedgehog," he said evenly. "You are correct. My robots are highly sophisticated in design, and as such require a significant amount of power. Fortunately, I have perfected a way to convert living energy—in this case, the energy gathered from the wildlife of this island—into a long-lasting battery that keeps my robot army in tip-top shape. It's a long, complicated explanation for a primitive creature such as yourself," he continued pompously, "so I won't waste my breath with the details. Just know that your island is giving my fabulous creations_ life_.

"There is no greater energy, you see, than life itself." He paused, appearing to admire the trees around him. "And this island is simply _full_ of life. So peaceful. So free." Then he frowned again, staring back at Sonic. "But it's all wrong. These creatures are much like those on my planet, constantly in motion, flittering about their meaningless lives like a rabble of headless chickens. Balderdash, I say. Absolute rubbish."

Robotink leaned forward in his seat, his eyes growing more intense. "And that is why, rodent, I will _rebuild_ this world in my own image! I will end these pitiful creatures' hidden misery and give them _purpose_: to serve me, their master, and live without want or care of anything ever again!" His eyes flashed as he began to grin at the hedgehog. "Freedom, as you must know, is the greatest myth ever conceived. With freedom comes choice. With choice comes consequence. With consequence comes catastrophe, every single time. You think this island knows peace? Give it a year, maybe two, and these _animals_ will eat each other alive."

_I've heard enough. _"You wanna bet, smart guy?" Sonic retorted, crouching into a fighting stance. "I wrote the book on freedom. I think I'll be calling the shots on my own life, thank you very much!"

Robotink sighed. "Clearly, you need a lesson in manners, rodent," he remarked in an exasperated voice. "Very well. I was saving this for a more appropriate occasion, but…"

The doctor leaned back in his seat, pressing a few buttons as the machine hummed to life. To Sonic's amazement, the machine turned out to be a small transportation vessel—_that floated in the air_. Just when Sonic thought the surprises were over with, Robotnik pulled a large red lever on his dashboard, opening a compartment on the hovercraft's underside and releasing a very deadly-looking brown checkered ball connected to a heavy chain.

"You seem rather fast, hedgehog," the doctor cackled menacingly. "Now let's see if you're fast enough to dodge _this_!"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading; be sure to tune in next week! And while you're at it, leave a review! Much appreciated!**


	6. Fight for your Right

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Fight For Your Right" is the property of The Beastie Boys. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Fight For Your Right

Normally the situation would've called for a _really_ inappropriate joke. Unfortunately, Sonic was forced to avoid what he liked to call "death-by-wrecking-ball syndrome" by bending backwards before he could utter a single quip.

Of course, that didn't mean he would never be able to throw one in sometime. Grinning, he got back on his feet and glanced up at Robotnik's hovercraft. "C'mon doc, is that all—OOOOF!"

In his moment of confidence, Sonic hadn't noticed the weapon swinging back the way it came, earning him a solid hit in the back that sent him flying forward, landing flat on his face in the grass. "Pendulum:" Robotnik quoted matter-of-factly, "a body so suspended from a fixed point as to move to **_and_** fro by the action of gravity and acquired momentum. What goes around comes around, rodent."

Sonic looked up groggily, spitting grass and dirt from his teeth. "My bad," he said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice, "I think I missed that day of class. Come to think of it, I've never actually _been_ to class."

He scrambled to his feet just in time to see Robotnik making another attack run. Sonic darted out of the way, deciding to be more careful. He'd never admit it in front of the doctor, but that blasted wrecking ball had _hurt. _Thankfully his quills were solid enough to soften the blow a little, but another direct hit like that would likely turn his pounding headache into a full-blown concussion. If he was lucky.

"Hold still, my young friend, I'm only getting started!" The mad doctor cackled. In a stunning move, Robotnik flipped his entire hovercraft 360 degrees vertically, bringing his wrecking ball along for the ride and slamming it into the spot Sonic was standing. _Was _being the operative word, as the hedgehog easily somersaulted out of the way at the last second.

"Oh yeah, Ro-butt-nik?" Sonic yelled back, crouching on all fours. "So am I!"

With that, he spun into his ball form and hurled himself into Robotnik's hovercraft, hitting it square in the center. The attack left a visible impact on the vehicle, but it was far from defeated.

"Heh, 'Ro-_butt_-nik!' Guess I'll have to remember that one, huh doc?" Sonic asked, giving the infuriated doctor the most annoying grin he could muster.

"You little…" Robotnik spat as his wrecking ball missed its target yet again. "Just give up, already!"

"Why? I'm havin' a blast, here!" Sonic continued to banter in the middle of a back-handspring, hitting the hovercraft with another spin attack.

"_Do. You. Ever. SHUT UP_?" screamed his opponent, no longer able to keep up his calm demeanor. Swing. Miss. Swing. Miss. No matter what adjustments Robotnik made to his machine, the blue hedgehog was simply too fast and unpredictable to deal with. He had anticipated resistance, but nothing—_nothing_—could have prepared him for this.

"Please," Sonic remarked, landing another strike on the hovercraft, "if you think I'm talkative now, you oughta talk to my fans back in Knothole." Another dodge, another counter-attack. "They've got some crazy stories."

Finally deciding he had enough fun, Sonic skidded to a halt, braced himself, and then launched another spin attack at the doctor, this time aiming for the chain linking the wrecking ball to Robotnik's vehicle. With the hovercraft's structural integrity in such poor shape, the chain easily split at Sonic's impact point, much to his opponent's horror. He kept spinning along the ground, building momentum, before slamming into the hovercraft one last time, knocking Robotnik out of the cockpit and shattering a large chunk of the machine's chassis. Weaponless and powerless, the hovercraft sputtered and died, crashing to the ground alongside its pilot.

"Y-you…" Robotnik grunted, slowly picking himself up and looking up at the victorious hedgehog. "You're… different from the others. Nothing should've been able to do that kind of damage to my Eggmobile. Just…" he coughed, then demanded angrily, "Just who are you?"

Sonic smirked, knocking the battered Eggmobile aside with his foot as he approached his opponent. "The name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." He stopped, waggling his finger in Robotnik's face. "Remember the name, doc." He grabbed the alien by his coat collar, ready to turn him into the nearest authorities.

"W-wait!" Robotnik sputtered, all the anger seemingly gone. "I… I am truly sorry! I didn't know what I was dealing with when I first came to this island, so I…" he gulped, trying to catch his breath. Sonic raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make of this sudden change of heart.

"Please, Sonic! Spare me! Y-you said you were from a…'Knothole,' correct? If you let me go, I p-promise I'll leave you, your village and this island alone for good! I'll just pack up and leave, cross my heart!"

There was a long silence as Sonic considered what the doctor said. On one hand, there was always the chance that the alien weirdo was a big, fat liar. On the other hand, Sonic _did _kick his butt pretty badly… and if there was any chance that Robotnik would really leave him alone and let his life go back to the way it was…

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Ro-butt-nik," Sonic finally said, giving the doctor another arrogant smirk. "Watch who you mess with next time."

With that, Sonic took off, leaving Robotnik with a broken dream and a beaten-up Eggmobile. He had one last thought before disappearing behind the treeline:

_Well, glad _that's _over with._

* * *

Seconds later, there was a shrill sound of buzzing.

Dr. Robotnik briefly paused his inspection of the Eggmobile, glancing up at the robot he had summoned: a large, bee-like machine complete with a stinger, antennae sensors, and dark purple stripes.

"Buzzbomber. Gather as many of the troops as you can," the doctor ordered. "Track that hedgehog's trajectory and _head him off_. You know what to do. One way or another, he will learn what happens to those who make a mockery of me."

Watching his robot lackey float into the distance, the doctor began to ponder his fight with the rebellious Mobian, playing it over and over again in his mind.

_I believe it's time for me to begin a new project..._

* * *

Once again, it wasn't over with.

At least, that was the conclusion Sonic came to when he returned to Knothole an hour later to find the entire village on fire.

He immediately stopped running, his mouth dry, his arms limp at his sides, his mind numb. Surrounding him was the only home he ever knew, and it was steadily burning to ashes before his very eyes.

Hysterical and unsure of what to do first, he scrambled around the entire village hollering random people's names, hoping to find _something_ intact. He found nothing but fire. The mayor's house. The schoolhouse. His favorite ice cream parlor. Everywhere he looked, up in flames. Even the Knotty Dogs' hideout had been discovered, broken into and bombed out, the Great Oak Slide in shambles and every room caved in. Even Nate's workshop…

Nate. Suddenly the thought of the old bear snapped Sonic to attention, urging him to race over to the workshop and take a closer look. He wasn't sure what he'd find, but with so much going on at once he was at least hoping to find… _something._

To his disappointment, he found the workshop in the same state as everything else, burning and empty. Every one of Nate's projects were apparently either destroyed or confiscated. Including Winged Victory.

As the horrified hedgehog took another step forward, he felt his shoe graze something on the ground. Startled, he looked at his feet. It was one of Nate's prototype power rings, unnoticed by the village's attackers and still apparently full of juice. The last one of its kind.

Something hot and slimy threatened to burst out of his chest. Gloved fists clenched at his side. Gleaming white teeth were bared in rage. His mind suddenly began thawing out of its numb disbelief and instead wanted to explode in unbridled fury.

No longer hesitating, the incensed hedgehog grabbed the power ring, stuck it behind his quills for safe keeping and rocketed away in the direction he had come from.

_Nobody messes with me and gets away with it. That chubby alien is gonna__** pay**__._

* * *

**A/N: And so it begins. Let me know how I'm doing, yeah?  
**


	7. Green Grass, High Hills

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Green Grass and High Tides" is the property of The Outlaws. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Green Grass, High Hills

Just north of the Great Forest, over the Turquoise Lake and beyond the Red Canyons, there was said to be a region of South Island that was completely unlike its more docile southern region. The green grass grew even greener, the trees and flowers more numerous and bizarre, and the color of the brown dirt morphed into a curiously checkered color of dark and light hues. Few Mobians settled there, for it was agreed that this strange and wonderful land never be tainted with civilization, but it quickly became a popular spot for family outings, children's play dates, and secret romantic rendezvous at night. Nobody ever really decided on an official name for the region, but most of the Island's younger citizens had taken to simply calling it the "Green Hill Zone."

Sonic gazed at his surroundings, memories of his childhood flooding back to him. The Green Hill Zone had been one of his favorite getaway spots as a younger hedgehog when Knothole became far too boring. The tall trees and exotic caverns provided plenty of opportunities to swing, run and explore. Some of the stranger rock formations in the Zone appeared to resemble a complete 360 degree loop, curving and twisting up and around before returning to the ground facing the opposite direction. Sonic's favorite activity whenever he was in the neighborhood was to take a running start and race up and around these "loops," letting his quills blow in the wind and his feet leave the ground in a brief moment of zero gravity. If only there had been a place like this around when his parents-

He stopped his train of thought almost instantaneously. No. He was _not _going to be thinking about _them _right now.

Shaking his head clear, Sonic took off, racing across the Green Hill Zone. The familiar colors of Green Hill soon became psychotropic blurs in the background. The world became an open book, beckoning him to drink everything in at once. His mind was suddenly free and insouciant again. It was as if he was somehow able to outrun his problems as easily as he could outrun one of Robotnik's swatbots.

…Of course, thinking of the evil doctor brought Sonic's mind plummeting back to reality again. He frowned, but kept running. As much as he refused to admit it, he wasn't entirely sure of what he was doing. Wherever he went looking for a settlement untouched by the mad doctor, the result was the same: empty remains of civilization with nary a soul in sight. Robotnik had been agonizingly thorough in his conquest of South Island, and now Sonic was left with nowhere to go, no one to talk to, and no idea of where the alien creep had ran away.

His only option left was to try and make his way to the summit of the island, a barren place where no Mobian had ever ventured to before and an ideal place for an out-of-sight, out-of-mind base of operations. It was a long shot, and a very long journey on foot, but he was pretty fast. Sonic would likely run into Robotnik long before the madman ever made it back to the summit, if he was really settled there in the first place.

Thankfully, the answer came quicker than the hedgehog suspected. After leaping over another ridge, Sonic stopped his pursuit just long enough to catch a glimpse of the path in front of him. Robots of every shape, size and color were scattered _everywhere, _dutifully and monotonously patrolling the area. Each was more or less a giant-sized insect or arachnid of some kind, including what he recognized as the Motobug robot from not long ago. There was no doubt about it—Robotnik had passed this way.

Sonic found himself grinning for the first time in hours. Sure, he had to chase down the evil doctor. Nobody said he couldn't have a little _fun_ first.

He stretched his neck back and forth, trying to relieve some leftover tension, when he felt something brush against one of his quills. Startled, he reached for the offended area and wanted to slap himself when his fingers grasped the power ring he had picked up earlier. _Forgot all about this thing, _he mused, scrutinizing it with his emerald eyes and turning it around in his hands. _How's it supposed to work, anyway?_

His eyes narrowed in concentration, gripping the ring tightly in his fingers. Suddenly it began to feel warm in his hands, causing a tingling sensation to grow from his head to his toes. Fascinated, he watched as the power ring briefly glowed a bright gold… before disappearing completely in his hands, its sudden disappearance accompanied by a sparkle of light and a bright, high pitched chime that reverberated across the hillside.

And just like that, he felt energy coursing through his entire body, warming his fingers and causing his fur to stand up on his skin. It wasn't much, really, but for the briefest of moments, Sonic felt like he could do… _anything_.

With a reinvigorated spirit and the added strength of the power ring, the confident hedgehog looked up at his oblivious foes. He lifted his thumb and index finger to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. "_Yo!"_ he shouted, "seen any dashing blue 'hogs around here?"

Almost immediately, every badnik in the area froze in place and turned its head towards the sound of the disturbance, meeting Sonic's jest with a loud chorus of "TARGET ACQUIRED." Dozens of sensor arrays and laser cannons flashed in his direction.

"Nope, didn't think so!" Sonic taunted, planting his feet firmly into the ground in preparation. With a smirk and a hop, he charged.

For all of his boasting, Robotnik had put together some pretty pitiful cronies, and the power ring wasn't making things any easier for them. With the grace of an acrobat, Sonic easily plowed into the nearest two badniks, grinding into the obvious weak spot on their heads and hearing a satisfying _pop _as a couple of grateful animals fled from their oppressors. He could easily feel the ring's energy giving him a slight boost in speed and a higher reception to sights and sounds, making the dismantling of every robot in the area a complete breeze.

Soon he found himself easily shredding through badniks one by one as he dashed through the Green Hill Zone, spinning through underground tunnels and zooming around loops until he was dizzy. Jump, spin, twist, bust a robot, rinse and repeat. Soon the fields began filling with scrap metal and small animals running in every direction, overjoyed at being released from their metal prisons. In the midst of all the chaos, Sonic was having more fun than he could remember having in a very long time.

After easily dispatching a large bee-like robot, Sonic skidded to another halt, taking a moment to look back at his handiwork. Not a single badnik was left standing as far as the eye could see, all replaced by dozens of dazed but free small chickens, rabbits and Flickies.

Sonic's grin grew wider. Even after that huge adrenaline rush, he'd still managed to actually do some genuine good. Nate would've been proud.

"Cake," he finally said, turning and dusting his hands off. He took a step forward…

…just as the ground beneath him collapsed.


	8. Intentions Stray

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Freefall" is the property of Metrik and Reija Lee. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Intentions Stray

In a freefall, everything happens at once. Gravity becomes deadly, every limb turns into jelly, the world morphs into a nonsensical blur. Sonic had never before felt the sensation of falling, and when it finally hit him, he was too surprised to even let out a scream.

His arms and legs began flailing uselessly around him, desperately trying to find solid ground again. The light from the world above grew dimmer and dimmer, and there was no telling how far down he would continue to fall. All he knew was that if he didn't think of something soon, Robotnik would get away and his robots would be cleaning a big blue stain off of the cavern floor.

With that unpleasant thought, Sonic's mind snapped to attention. In a heartbeat, he aggressively flung himself into a ball, his quills rigid and his body gyrating faster and faster in preparation for the eventual impact. Seconds later, he finally felt himself slam into the ground. Rather than letting the momentum built by his freefall be directed into his skeleton, his ball form bounced once with a jarring crash, then continued rolling across the cavern floor, lessening the impact tremendously.

It was just enough for the speedster to survive, but it didn't stop him from tumbling sloppily out of his ball form and skidding across the ground in a heap. With a grunt, he finally came to rest a few feet away from his impact point, his body in pain but completely still.

Slowly he began to rise, his sore muscles protesting under his weight. He groaned in pain, his fingers sliding across the smooth tiled floor, trying to find some sort of-

His eyes snapped open. Something wasn't right.

Ignoring the ache in his limbs, he scrambled to his feet and gaped at the sight beneath his feet. He'd just fallen about half a kilometer underground. Following that logic, he should have been standing on a rocky, uncomfortable cavern floor. Instead, the dim lighting in the area revealed that the floor was, in fact, made up of cool, gray-shaded marble tiles. Sonic looked up, seeing that one of the walls in front of him was also made of marble. Clearly this underground tunnel he had stumbled into was Mobian-made, lost in time to the people living on the surface, and… was it suddenly getting hotter?

He glanced to his right, where the crimson light filling the corridor began glowing brighter. A few yards later, he began to see what was making his fur damp with perspiration: a very large, very _hot _pit of magma that stretched in front of him for what seemed like miles. He wasn't sure what a magma pit was doing so close to the surface of Mobius, or why it wasn't melting the marble around it and flooding the entire cavern, but he was too determined to catch up to Robotnik to care.

He glanced over his shoulder, staring up at the hole he had fallen down. From the looks of things, he sure wasn't _climbing _out. And the cavern he was standing in really only had one way forward, so…

Sonic put his eyes forward again, his lip curling. "I could always _swim _across," he joked darkly to himself. So fed up was he that he almost would've tried, had it not been for the small, jagged block of marble jutting out in the magma. Not even concerned with how it wasn't a melted pool of stone yet, he quickly stepped onto the platform, bouncing on his heels slightly to test its stability. He finally hesitated, something quite out of character for him. This was crazy. _But that's why I gotta try it. No sense waitin' around for a miracle to drop outta the sky.  
_

His red-sneakered heel dug into the crack separating the block from solid ground, further weakening the connection and causing his platform to completely split from the safety of the cavern. Stretching his leg out, he pushed off from the cavern floor and looked up to see the path before him. No sign of land anytime soon. At the speed his platform was going, and considering he couldn't really speed things up without risking a few third-degree burns, he was just going to be stuck floating (again, how?) across red-hot magma for a while. Tapping his foot impatiently, he simply crossed his arms and waited.

It was honestly the first time he could take a moment and really drink in his situation, and it was starting to make his head spin. What was he doing? How had everything turned upside down after just a few hours? His scowl deepened as the memory of his old life—the comfort of Knothole, the freedom of South Island and the admiration of his gang—started to seem like it had been several lifetimes ago. Now he was practically being roasted alive in a cavern deep below the island that he had once thought he knew better than the back of his hand. When was the last time someone had even _been _down here? If ever? Yet as he glanced about the cavern he floated down, seeing the marble tiles above him appear older and more dilapidated, he couldn't help but also feel a twinge of adrenaline at the prospect of finding something nobody else had, seeing places he hadn't even dreamed of.

Then there was Robotnik. Who did that guy think he was? Sure, nobody on Mobius had ever figured out how to make metal move on its own, but seriously—the whack job was already calling himself King of the Hill just because he could bang a couple of rocks together and make everything disappear except Sonic, his well-worn sneakers, and a big, empty island.

Sonic shook his head. He couldn't wait to punch that big, stupid grin right off of the alien's face. It was as simple as that.

After what seemed like ages, he finally caught a glimpse of the other side of the lava lake. Realizing how restless he was, he stretched his legs, itching to get moving again. "C'mon," he muttered, "how slow can ya go, you hunk of brick?" The moment he thought the marble shoreline was close enough, he took a deep breath and jumped.

Maybe the heatwaves were wreaking havoc on his vision. Maybe the long trip had simply put his mind to sleep. Either way, he found out the hard way that safety had been a bit too far away, and he found himself barely clinging to the marble ledge with his feet, toes touching solid ground, heels still hanging over the boiling death trap.

The world stopped for a moment. Sonic instantly became aware of everything: the magma's heat scorching the fur on his back, the thin layer of sweat coating his forehead and trickling into his eyes, the feeling of weightlessness as his balance began shifting backwards toward a fiery doom. Panicked, he flailed his arms forward and ducked his head to his chest, sorely hoping for that miracle to drop out of the sky right now.

Well, it hadn't dropped from anywhere, but the panicked move was still enough. His sudden shift in momentum tossed his body into a somersault, lifting his feet behind him and causing the rest of his body to tumble to safety.

Blood pounding in his ears, he laid perfectly still face-down, the only sounds in the chamber being the occasional gurgle of magma and his own heavy breathing, occasionally marred by raspy coughs as he breathed in flecks of dirt and ash. He gave out another wheeze as he flopped over onto his belly, eyes still squeezed shut. Too close. Too. Close.

Somewhere in the midst of his gasping and coughing, he couldn't help but let out a few spurts of laughter. In all the years of his young life, this had to have been his first real brush with death.

Maybe it was best not to think about it.

But it was far too ironic to ignore. Before today, he had never before felt so _alive._

* * *

**A/N: For those of you bothered by the relatively short chapters, just know that I'm still getting my feet wet with this whole multi-chaptered book thing. I work best when I keep things to-the-point rather than try to harp on meaningless details, and sometimes that results in less content than I probably could have come up with. I'm still working on improving my writing the deeper I get into this, but bear with me; this is planned to be a series that spans no less than 10 books, and some are just gonna be shorter than others.  
**

**Loving the feedback, keep it up and tell your friends!**


	9. Lost in a Thousand Days

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Through the Fire and Flames" is the property of Dragonforce. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Lost In a Thousand Days

Run, jump, smash, land. The same old song and dance.

Sonic rose to his feet and gripped the makeshift torch in his hand tighter, ignoring the frightened chipmunk scrambling away from the mangled remains of its former prison. Nearly an hour (Two hours? Five? Ten?) of wandering underground, and he had just now run into five of Robotnik's robot lackeys in a row. Thankfully, it proved one thing: he was going in the right direction.

Stepping over what was left of his opponent, a robotic bat, he continued jogging down the marble corridor, beginning to feel conscious of the stress he was putting on his feet. While his shoes were definitely sturdier than the average footwear, they never lasted long after being forced to withstand speeds clocking in at just under a couple hundred miles per hour. Nowadays he was forced to replace his shoes roughly every week, but it was better than blowing out his soles every ten minutes. He'd learned that the hard way not too long ago, on a day he'd felt particularly adventurous about.

Thinking about older days that might not ever happen again wasn't helping Sonic's increasingly souring mood, however. He gritted his teeth and allowed himself to put just a little more juice in his run, hoping his brush with the lava pits from earlier hadn't damaged the rubber in his shoes too much.

The underground passageways had become more and more bizarre the further along he went. Not only had he been forced to float across several more pits of lava that somehow hadn't completely eaten through the marble surfaces, but old spike traps, switch-powered doors, and falling ceilings had gotten in his way as well. Either Robotnik had a ton of time on his hands, or those traps had been in place long before Sonic was even born.

It was completely baffling to the young hedgehog. Didn't anyone _know_ about all the crazy stuff down here?

Thankfully, the air grew cooler and less humid the deeper he traveled into the catacombs, and he began running into noticeably fewer traps. It was high time he earned a…

Sonic's feet skidded to a stop. His eyes widened at the sight of the room he'd just entered. The passageway had suddenly changed from a narrow, tall corridor to a wide, open chamber, too large for Sonic to illuminate with his small light source. Raising his torch, he noticed a significant change in the decorum: rather than the smooth, unblemished marble walls he had grown used to, the walls in the chamber were covered from ceiling to floor in unfamiliar markings. Pictures. Murals of some kind, from the looks of it.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he started running again, the torch in his hand faintly illuminating the path across the chamber. Despite himself, his curiosity was piqued (and his boredom was growing) just enough for him to keep his eyes glued to the walls of the chamber, the flickering glow from his torch barely allowing him to make out several of the images before him: a horizon dotted with trees, deserts, mountains, and stars. A circle of objects surrounding an altar. A mob of armed figures battling a gigantic monster with razor-sharp teeth. An island ascending into the clouds.

It all made about as much sense to Sonic as everything else that had happened today did.

Outside of town gossip, he hadn't the faintest idea of what went on in the outside world. He preferred to stay clear of civilization during his runs around the island, for fear of being spotted and labeled an "unaccompanied minor" by the authorities, making him feel left out of the loop, to say the least. The Knothole rumor mill, however, made him perfectly aware that there were many islands just like South Island scattered across the ocean, each with their own tales to tell. Knothole obviously didn't get too many visitors, but a handful of the locals could recall the lengthy, dramatized stories told by sailors and traders from all around the island. Sonic could distinctly remember himself in his younger days, eagerly lapping up every story he could get his ears on with wide-eyed amazement.

Unfortunately, few of those stories had ever mentioned anything related to the scenes currently carved or painted onto the walls around him. And these chambers were _old_; they looked old, felt old, and probably even smelled old…assuming the thick, musty air around him was considered old smelling. Without any sort of education on ancient Mobian history, he wasn't entirely sure whether the murals were stories from the past, or just the result of what happened when a bunch of earth-dwelling creatures had way too much time on their hands.

He could faintly remember one rumor that seemed relevant, though: an island floating high above the clouds, just out of sight but occasionally appearing as a dark silhouette on a cloudless morning before disappearing again. Many brave explorers with technology one step ahead of South Island's had taken an expedition above the clouds in search of the mysterious island. None returned.

Sonic could remember vowing to himself that he would one day venture off the island and explore every nook and cranny of Mobius. _And I will, _he thought as he turned a corner and raced through the catacombs.

Just as soon as he was done knocking the tar out of every robot he could get his hands on.

* * *

**A/N: Had to make this a shorter one, but the next chapter will be up earlier to compensate. I've gotten incredibly busy. Thanks for sticking this out.**

**Still waiting for people to catch the relationship between all the chapter titles, by the way.**


	10. Dance, Water Dance

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Magic Dance" is the property of David Bowie. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Dance, Water Dance

By the time he found himself ankle-deep in water, he had finally figured out why he'd spent the last five minutes slipping all over the marble.

Disgusted, Sonic raised his right foot out of the putrid-smelling liquid, shaking moss off of his now rapidly decaying shoe. He'd always hated water. To him, it was nothing more than a roadblock, a useless pest trying to keep a fast-moving guy like him from moving forward. _Water _was hard to run in. _Water_ kept him from getting off his tiny little island. _Water_ turned his shoes and socks into anvils that he was forced to drag along like a sack of kittens whenever he wanted to start running. Not to mention how he couldn't exert himself for too long without having to drink that blasted _water…_

…Which reminded him: he was parched. Thanks to water, he had limits. Sonic the Hedgehog shouldn't _have_ limits. It made him _sick_.

Sonic growled under his breath, taking a look around for a different path to follow. Thankfully, he no longer needed his torch, which had burned out a while ago. The walls of the cavern were no longer made of the same boring gray marble, but instead were a sort of brick pattern that boasted a bright golden hue, illuminating the caverns around him. _Not normal, but I'm not asking questions about it._

Seeing no other way to move forward, he focused his attention on the path at his feet. The floor continued its downward angle in a stair-step pattern, each brick tile submerged deeper and deeper underwater. Beyond that, the path seemed to straighten out again and disappeared under the brick wall in front of him.

"Well," the hedgehog said to himself, bottom lip curled in dislike, "it goes somewhere that's not here. Works for me."

Without a second thought, he took a deep breath and leaped into the water feet first.

It was his first time underwater, and he was glad to find out that he was able to keep his eyes open without irritating them too much. Better still, the natural glow from the walls kept his environment nicely visible. If only he had a nose plug to keep everything from smelling like the waste container outside Nate's garage.

He let himself sink to the bottom and began wading forward, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. It was a task much easier said than done; every movement felt as sluggish as cutting molasses, not to mention the way his nose wrinkled at the smell around him, his quills flattened uncomfortably to his skin, and his lungs screamed for oxygen…

…Which _also_ reminded him: he kinda needed to find a place to breathe soon. He could still vaguely feel the effects of the power ring from before, but he wasn't sure how it would work underwater.

Thankfully he found reprieve in the small cracks in the brick walls, each producing unusually large bubbles that contained just enough space for him to release the air pressure in his lungs and immediately take a quick gulp of oxygen. Encouraged by his sudden stroke of luck, he proceeded through the illuminated catacombs.

* * *

Of course, _proceeding _would actually imply that he was getting somewhere, and he had no way of knowing that. The zone was nothing short of an underwater maze, complete with dead ends, confusing platforms and forks in the road that jutted in literally every direction; up, down, and sideways.

With a sense of direction that was about as good as a blindfolded chicken with its head cut off, it was no wonder Sonic often felt he was going in circles.

He broke through the surface of the water for about the millionth time, coughing up a lung and shaking water off of his matted blue fur as best as he could. "If I—_cough—_ever see one more falling platform—_hack—_I'm gonna kick something," he griped aloud, hauling himself onto the nearest ledge. Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, he stayed on all fours for a long while, trying to catch his breath when the sound of running water caught his ear. He looked up, startled, to see a small section of brick missing from the wall nearby, cool and clear water spurting from the gap and splashing onto the slowly eroding floor beneath it.

He scrambled to his feet, immediately running to the hole in the wall and taking several large gulps of water. Wherever it came from, it wasn't standing water and it didn't smell like sewage, so it was a-ok in Sonic's book. He had to admit, he thought as he felt his stamina restoring a little bit more with each swallow, this aspect of water could be pretty nice.

Satisfied, he stepped back and wiped the back of his mouth with a gloved hand, smirking at his good fortune. He turned in the direction he came from, preparing to dive again. Maybe turning left at that last junction would lead him out of the labyrinth.

* * *

He could _feel_ it.

Maybe it was the way the air seemed to grow less muggy and the glow of the labyrinth walls shone brighter. Maybe it was simply because the water became clearer and smelled slightly less like wet garbage. All he could tell was that somehow he knew he was getting close.

_To what, though? _He wondered as he pulled himself out of the water yet again. _I haven't seen any 'bots, or even anything remotely close to an EXIT sign. Didn't these ancient Mobians ever hear of arrows? And I'm spending hours on end deep underground while my shoes are ruined and my tail keeps getting shoved up my—_

He had finally caught up.

It was several dozen yards ahead of him, back turned, hovering a few feet above the floor, struggling to keep itself afloat without scraping against the floor of banging its occupant's head on the ceiling as it dragged itself through the labyrinth. The same steel spaceship housing that same sadistic alien scientist, completely oblivious to the soaking, seething hedgehog behind it.

At the sight of it, something inside Sonic's mind snapped.

_You…!_ With a silent growl, he launched himself at the mad doctor, hoping to tackle the fiend right out of his hovercraft. Though desperate, his irrational move might have worked if a spike trap hadn't suddenly burst out of the wall beside him.

Sonic let out a cry of pain as he felt the trap pierce his side and knock him into the opposite wall. _More traps, _he thought, picking himself off the floor. _NOW? Geez, you've gotta be KIDDING me! He's RIGHT THERE! _He unconsciously felt his side with a free hand. Oddly enough, the spikes had not left any injury, but he felt considerably less energetic than before, as if he had just gotten the wind knocked out of him from a blow to the gut, only... worse. It was like something he had been carrying in his pocket had inexplainably jumped out of it on its own. Like he was suddenly missing something.

Then it hit him. The last time he had felt this vulnerable was in the moments before he had made Nate's power ring disappear. Its energy must have been used up to protect him from the spike trap.

His heart plummeted. He was on his own now.

Naturally, the mayhem happening behind him immediately caught Dr. Robotnik's attention. He swung his Eggmobile around completely to find a familiar blue hedgehog collapsed on the brick floor with a hand on his side and murder in his eyes. "What? The rodent again?" he hissed to himself. This problem was getting more irritating by the hour.

"Surprised to see me, doc?" Sonic barked, taking a step towards the hovercraft. "Not surprising, considering the… HEY!" His angry quip was cut off as he witnessed Robotnik turning tail and jetting down the corridor as fast as the hovercraft would take him.

Without hesitation, Sonic took off after his opponent, ignoring the weight of his soggy shoes and fur. _No worries, _he thought as he closed in on the retreating Eggmobile. _Just another few seconds and-_

He violently skidded to a halt as his view of the Eggmobile was suddenly replaced with that of a way-too-familiar luminescent brick wall. "What the-?" He lifted his eyes skyward just in time to spot the bottom of the Eggmobile disappearing over an overhanging ledge.

"Not fast enough, rodent!" he heard Robotnik's fading voice taunt over his shoulder, apparently content to leave the hedgehog lost in the labrynth.

_I don't think so! _His determination unwavering, he hastily leaped for the ledge above him with his arms outstretched, digging his fingers into the brick as he gripped the edge. He yanked himself over the edge and glanced above him, noticing that their path continued straight upwards, complete with spike traps, badniks, and small ledges just low enough for him to jump to. _Well, we know who can run faster… time to find out who can jump faster. _He cracked his knuckles.

And so the chase continued, Robotnik's Eggmobile steadily rising up the vertical shaft as Sonic furiously bounded from ledge to ledge in hot pursuit. Higher and higher they climbed, both feeling the cooling of the air and the brightness of the caverns morphing from the artificial glow of the brick walls to a more natural, dark aura. They were getting closer to the surface of Mobius, and Sonic was running out of time.

Grabbing another ledge, he looked over his shoulder at his opponent. He'd more or less caught up; Robotnik was drifting just above his eye level on the opposite side of the shaft, preparing to turn onto a much larger platform behind Sonic… possibly the way out of the labyrinth. It was now or never.

Feeling his quills flare instinctively, he lifted his knees to his chest and braced his feet against the edge he was gripping. He had one shot: either hit the stubborn doctor and end all his troubles, or miss completely and likely knock himself unconscious against a wall. No pressure. With a deep breath, he launched himself from the ledge, curling himself into a spiky ball and spinning rapidly in anticipation of the impact.

Despite a nasty headache, sore limbs, a bruised ego, the his aim was true. The spin attack smashed into the Eggmobile, shattering the weakened chassis once again and knocking the stunned doctor out of his seat. Robotnik tumbled facedown onto the platform behind him with a shout of displeasure, as his beloved hovercraft crashed right beside him.

The doctor coughed once as he turned over onto his back, unable to prevent a maniacal grin from spreading across his face. "Well," he croaked, "this seems familiar." His eyes met Sonic's, easily spotting an unsettling gleam in the hedgehog's dark irises that had been absent during their last meeting. "You look angry, rodent," he cackled. "What's the matter? Is it because I burned down your villiage? Captured your friends? You really should consider relocating that anemic little hideout of yours, it was far too easy to find."

Sonic said nothing, his arrogant grin replaced with a scowl.

"Oh, _I_ understand now!" Robotnik laughed. "You're upset that for the first time in your life, somebody's beaten yo-"

"_Shut UP!_" The hedgehog finally broke his silence, punctuating the outburst with his fist slamming into the side of the battered Eggmobile beside him. Robotnik frowned, deciding that he had made his point.

"Very well," the doctor muttered. "I'll give you this round as well, hedgehog. But before you try and take me in…"

"Oh, no," Sonic snarled, stepping towards Robotnik and grabbing him by his jacket collar. "We're not doing that again. You're _dead_."

Robotnik's face remained unintimidated. "Empty threats don't quite suit you, rodent."

"You wanna bet on that?"

The doctor scoffed. "My friend, I can assure you that at this point-" he made a barely detectable gesture with his fingers to something behind the hedgehog, "-what you wish to do to me hardly bears any weight."

"I'm not your _friend_, you gearhead," Sonic shot back, oblivious to everything other than Robotnik's smug face. "And you can keep talking big all you want, but I've torn apart every robot of yours within the nearest fifty miles before any of 'em had the chance to oil themselves. How long did you think it was gonna take me to hunt the likes of you down?" He slowly reached for a sharp fragment of metal lying nearby with his free hand. "It's _over_."

"_Au contraire, monsieur rongeurs..._"

A sharp prod on the back of Sonic's neck sent a sudden shocking sensation that coursed through his entire body, not even giving him time to yell in surprise.

"..this is _far _from over."

He hit the ground hard on his back, barely catching a glance of a giant robotic bee sheathing its electrified stinger before he lost all feeling in his nerves and his world went pitch black.


	11. Born to Run

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Born to Run" is the property of Bruce Springsteen. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Born To Run

Well, he could smell something—a humid, sickening scent of oil and rusted metal, mixing together to cause his insides to churn. But it meant he was still alive. That was a start.

Hearing? Also not a problem. Though he would be hard-pressed to call the sound of clanking steel and grinding gears echoing off the walls around him much of a positive sign.

His taste buds felt like he had just swallowed a dozen large cotton balls dipped in grease. Gross. Moving on.

No matter how hard he tried to force them open, his eyes were being uncooperative. All he could do was open them no more than a crack, his groggy mind barely registering the world around him as no more than a dull silver blur.

With all his other senses starting to smear into focus, his nervous system suddenly became aware of three things: one, his head felt like it was about to split open; two, he couldn't move any of his limbs; three, he was moving forward at an achingly slow pace. Without moving his feet.

Sonic forced his eyes open to the sight of his feet, worn-down shoes and all, being dragged across flat steel floor panels. He glanced up, neck muscles groaning in protest, and his eyes caught the glint of metal claws gripping his right arm. It didn't take long to realize that attached to the claw was none other than a replica of the swatbot he had destroyed not too long ago, and judging by the similar feeling in his other arm, there was a second one escorting him in the same way.

Panicked, he began to struggle against the vices pinning him in place as the swatbots marched forward. His shoulders turned and twisted as he attempted to yank his arms free, his hands uselessly reaching for his captors' grip on him, desperately trying to get as much distance between him and this place as possible. Try as he might, his fatigued body failed to even get the swatbots' attention as they soldiered robotically forward, as his hands remained too isolated from his shackles and he couldn't do much with his feet dragging along in this way.

So this was what it felt like to be captured. To have his freedom stripped from him for the first time.

As the haze began to clear from his mind, he was soon able to take in more of the area he was being dragged through. Above him was a star-studded night sky that threatened to swallow him whole with its brilliance. In contrast, the ground below was cold, dim, and colorless, with the only vibrancy present in the various, dull yellow and red plastic plates scattered across the visible landscape, each connected to one structure or another by a short rusted spring.

Now Sonic was certain that he had no idea where he was, but the amount of rust and steel around him clued him in to one thing: Robotnik had to be close. Which meant he needed to get moving, pronto. If he was going to take on the mad doctor again, it would have to be on his terms- certainly not while held lifelessly by a couple of overgrown recycling bins.

Growing desperate, he hatched a plan.

He slowly licked his dried out, sore lips, trying to gather as much saliva to the fore of his mouth as possible (and he was really starting to wish he'd packed food and water before running off like that). With a deep breath, he hawked the biggest wad of spit he could muster in the pathway of the swatbot on his right, where it landed with a nice, loud splat!

If he wasn't in such mortal danger right now, he would have laughed himself into a coma.

ALERT

DISTURBANCE DETECTED

SCANNING…

There was no time to lose. He took advantage of his gross distraction and wormed his right arm out of the grasp of his captor. One adrenaline rush later, his feet had lashed out and knocked swatbot #1 away. The other bot immediately responded and charged at the nearest steel wall, attempting to crush Sonic between itself and a hard place. Unfortunately for it, Sonic was ready for the impact with his knees pressed into his chest. As soon as he felt his shoes meet steel, he snapped his legs straight, launching himself and the swatbot away from the wall. He felt it release its hold over him somewhere along the way, both of them careening off into different directions.

Sonic was the first to crash-land, pain streaking through his upper back as he slammed into a large metal pole and slid to the ground. The swatbot seemed to have traveled further, and Sonic looked up from his crumpled slouch just in time to see it impact one of the red-colored pads behind it. At first glance, it looked like the swatbot had been given the better end of the deal, crashing into a cushion instead of a solid wall. Instead, to the hedgehog's surprise, he watched as the pad compacted itself against the wall and rebounded completely, launching swatbot #2 into the opposite wall with a distinct **_sproing!_** In no time at all, the robot had gone from a complete working model to a crackling pile of sparking wires and smoldering metal.

There was no time to marvel. Swatbot #1 was just recovering from Sonic's surprise escape, giving the hedgehog only moments to act. Quick as a flash, he scrambled to his feet and plowed into the robot's visual sensor with a well-placed spin attack, easily smashing his foe's head to pieces.

Aside from the obnoxious sparking from the mangled husks of his captors and largely ignored shouts of praise from the fleeing small animals, all was quiet. Sonic let out a heaving, ragged breath of relief (or exhaustion) and collapsed backwards onto his rear, his energy finally spent. Streaks of light pink and orange began to peak over the skyline as he watched it from his vantage point on the ground, and he couldn't help but wonder how long he had been out. Furthermore, how far had the swatbots taken him? It was easy to assume that Robotnik had intended to do to him what he was currently doing to every other creature on Mobius, which also meant that the robots could only have been dragging him closer to his destination… which was probably a good thing, though he obviously wasn't there yet. Everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by dozens of multi-colored springs jutting out of every sort of metal structure imaginable, an area that was certainly a far cry from your typical evil lair.

So what to do now? He'd lost all sense of direction and practically every drop of his usually boundless energy. The situation reminded him of his much earlier days, a mental image of a small, unnoticeable blue hedgehog child whimpering in the corner of a ship cargo bay. The parallels were striking to him, especially while feeling half-starved, directionless, and out of his mind. Despite all this, his fatigue did nothing to quell the excruciating rage that was now gripping his chest in a vice. Despite all his efforts, that blasted alien had bested him. Again.

Well, he certainly didn't want to get re-captured. Time to keep—

CLANG!

Sonic leapt to his feet so quickly that he felt lightheaded, his eyes darting across the landscape. Despite his legendary stubbornness, there was no question in his mind that he was in no shape to try and take out another group of swatbots. If there was a patrol coming through the area again, with him in this condition…

CLANG!

At the second sound, the grate covering a nearby ventilation shaft broke loose and noisily clattered to the ground. Stunned, Sonic watched as an exhausted, grease-stained Ray the Flying Squirrel scrambled out of the vent.


	12. Shining Star

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Shining Star" is the property of Earth, Wind & Fire. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Shining Star

Sonic had never had hallucinations before, but given the state he was in, that sounded like a reasonable explanation for what he was seeing. Given the widened eyes and outstretched arm in front of him, Ray seemed to be having similar thoughts. For a long moment, neither moved an inch.

"S-s-_s-sonic_?" Ray sputtered, breaking the silence with a few short steps toward his old friend. "I-is that—h-h-how did you—what are you d-d-doing here…?"

At that moment, he touched Sonic's shoulder, and they both knew it was real.

"Ray!" Sonic suddenly shouted, grabbing the squirrel's arm with his free hand. "Dude, what happened? Where'd you come from? How'd—" he stopped, finally taking in Ray's appearance. "Bro… you look _terrible_."

Despite the small smile of relief on the young squirrel's face, Sonic was not over-exaggerating. Nearly every inch of Ray's mustard-yellow fur was matted with some form of mud, dirt or grease. He clearly hadn't eaten anything decent in days and what little exposed skin he had was slightly paler than usual. Even the tip of his right ear seemed abnormally frayed, almost as if something had snagged it and nearly torn it off.

"L-long story," Ray meekly replied. "It's j-j-just that…" Without warning, he leapt forward and grabbed Sonic firmly by the waist in a hug. "Y-you have _no_ idea h-h-how glad I am to see you! The others, t-they're…"

His jovial attitude quickly turned somber as he released the hedgehog, staring at the ground with a depressing frown on his face. Sonic couldn't help but feel a brief twinge of pity for all that the kid must've been going through—out of everybody in his gang, he'd always held a bit of a soft spot for Ray.

"Ray… where is everybody?" Sonic quietly asked. "Did that alien lunatic trap 'em in robots, too?"

Ray looked up and shook his head, his frown never leaving his features. "N-no. I th-think it's worse."

Sonic grimaced, his jaw clenching behind his closed lips. Robotnik had just pulled another fast one on him and he didn't want to waste any more time in hunting him down again. Breaking a few robots, he could do. "Worse" meant "worse." It also meant more work.

"Point me in the right direction, Ray," he said, bending down on one knee to tighten the straps on his shoes. "I'm gonna kick that guy right in his tin can…"

"And then y-y-you're gonna save 'em, right, Sonic?" Ray blurted out, taking a few steps forward eagerly.

"If I have time, dude," Sonic replied absently, giving his straps one last tug. "Can't be too far behind him, so I'd better jet now before-"

"If you h-have… wait, _what_?"

Sonic's head shot up, wide-eyed realization all over his face. Somehow, he figured that wasn't what Ray wanted to hear.

"Wh-what are you t-t-talking about, Sonic? All our friends are in danger! Th-the entire-"

"Hey, I know, alright? I just-" Sonic huffed, running a hand up his forehead in agitation. Everything seemed dead-set on making his life miserable today… "Look, just tell me where he took them, will ya? I have to-"

"Y-you can't just leave me! D-do you know what I've been through j-just to f-f-find help…?" Ray panicked, scrambling closer to the uncomfortable hedgehog.

"You made it this far, didn't you? I'm sure you'll have no problem-"

"T-take me with you!" Ray finally cried. "I can sh-show you where everyone was taken to! Then you can s-save them and we c-can all go home!"

"Duuuude," Sonic groaned. "I…" He leaned his head back, fingers sliding over his closed eyes. Yet another reason he wished for the old days… so he'd never have to deal with lame stuff like this. Very slowly, he straightened up and looked Ray in the eye. "I move faster on my own."

Ray was silent for a moment, wide eyes boring through the hedgehog's with an unblinking stare. "S-so…" he began, moisture beginning to form at the corners of his eyes, "Y-you're just gonna leave us b-behind?"

_And now the crying starts._

Sonic let an exasperated puff of air escape his lips. He could try and convince Ray to quit being a coward. He could give in and let the kid take the lead. He could just run off on his own and take his chances. Either way, he was just wasting time standing around until he decided to do something.

"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" he moaned under his breath.

* * *

_Me and my big mouth._

"So explain to me—OW—why we've gotta do this? My fur keeps getting caught in this stupid…"

"Trust me," Ray replied, looking over his shoulder at the frustrated hedgehog, "this is the b-best way to get there without g-g-getting spotted."

Sonic snorted in frustration. They had spent the last hour or two crawling through ventilation ducts, sneaking across abandoned streets, and leaping across rooftops (with the help of a few well-placed springboards) finding their way back to where Robotnik was supposedly keeping the citizens of South Island.

"Well," he grumbled, yanking his tail away from an open fan, "anymore of this sneakin' around stuff, and I'm gonna snap! Seriously, if we don't get outta here soon…"

"I w-wouldn't worry about th-that."

Sonic looked up, suddenly aware of the light shining into the shaft from the grate in front of them that Ray was currently working on busting open with his feet. With one last _clang!_ Ray knocked the grate cleanly off of its hinges and the pair slid out of the shaft.

They had emerged in a dimly lit alleyway, with only one direction available to them. Ahead lay yet another main street, complete with garbage blowing in the soft wind and flickering lights sputtering overhead. Sonic looked up at the building next to him, lightly running his fingers over the decaying wall. As pathetic as it may have looked to most onlookers, the hedgehog was still pretty impressed. No buildings built on the south side of the islands grew _this_ tall.

He could only guess that they were headed in the right direction, given the way the landscape around him was slowly changing: eventually the endless fields of metal springboards began to make way for sky-scraping buildings tinted with a mix of rusty brown decay and sickly green peeling paint. In Sonic's mind, it was certainly further north than anyone, at least in recent years, had dared to travel.

In fact, the area was beginning to show signs of actual civilization, although it seemed to be an era long gone. Now all that was left was a jungle of empty buildings, a maze of abandoned streets regularly patrolled by swatbots, endless stretches of wide-open highways, and an atmosphere thick with foreboding smog that began to blot out the brilliant, star-spangled night sky.

It went without saying that the entire experience was boring, tedious, and downright uncomfortable. Having Ray around was slowing him down to an unbearable level, and the headstrong hedgehog couldn't stand sneaking around in dark alleyways or skin-snagging ventilation shafts (such as the one he had just left). In fact, it was safe to say that he hadn't had the opportunity to break out into a run for quite some time, and the sight of the city's highways (which they agreed to avoid due to its exposure to Robotnik's heavy surveillance) was making his mouth water. But he grudgingly had to admit to himself that Ray was right: Ray had been wandering around the north side of the island long enough to know which direction the prisoners were, plus it would do no good to simply charge straight into the enemy's base. If Sonic's current situation had taught him anything, it was that leaping headfirst into a fistfight with Robotnik just as he did in the Labrynth probably wasn't going to win any battles for him.

If there was anything Sonic the Hedgehog hated more than the doctor at that moment, it was losing.

So he settled for passing the time by exchanging stories with Ray as they crept through the deserted city. It wasn't easy, as they had to talk in hushed voices and stop the conversation completely whenever a swatbot patrol wandered a little too close for comfort, but Sonic soon got the gist of Ray's adventure.

Like every other Mobian on the island, Ray had been captured by swatbots. All the citizens of Knothole had been systematically dragged from their homes, piled into a large transport, and briefly incapacitated by a painful electric shock. Those few who had overheard Sonic's story about the swatbot in the forest briefly wondered whether they would meet the same fate as the small animals—to be trapped in a robot and used as fuel—but as the Mobians awoke and found themselves dragged deeper into the alien's lair, it soon seemed that Robotnik had different plans for them. Whatever they were, nobody had been looking forward to it, and Ray wasn't even given the chance to: by some stroke of luck, the swatbot handling him had malfunctioned and the squirrel wasted no time worming his way out of its clutches, outrunning his captors, and diving out of sight into a sewer.

By the time Ray started to describe how he managed to scavenge scraps of food and water while trying to escape the city during the days leading up to their reunion, Sonic had zoned out. He had to give the usually cowardly boy credit, though—it took real guts to do what he did.

Ray, for his part, didn't seem to zone out at all while Sonic was giving his brief retelling of his journey north. The squirrel's eyes continued to grow wider and wider as Sonic softly described the sights he saw… though, even he had to admit, he had exaggerated a little more than he'd needed to.

"L-look at that."

A harsh whisper snapped Sonic out of his memories. Just ahead, Ray had sidled up to the alley wall and was motioning towards something just out of view from around the corner. Curious, Sonic crept behind to him and peered down the street.

Another swatbot patrol was headed their way down the beaten-down sidewalk. Their formation was simple: three rows of neatly spaced lines with four 'bots in each, making a total of twelve, all with standard equipment. As always, they mindlessly marched forward, waiting for something to pass by their optic sensors and give them something to do.

"Th-there's a lot of them," Ray said, crouching lower behind the alley corner, "b-b-but maybe we c-can get around them and sneak across the street if we s-stay here and let them pass…"

_…or maybe we can stop sneaking around like a couple of pansies and do things my way for once._

Reaching forward, Sonic grabbed a hold of Ray's shoulders. Without giving the boy a chance to even gasp in alarm, he gave Ray a hard shove, letting him stumble out into the street in full view of the swatbot patrol.

Immediately the robots stopped in their tracks and broke formation, a dozen laser cannons warming up with a bright red glow and squarely pointed at the terrified Mobian before them. Monotonous questions and commands were fired simultaneously:

NEW LIFEFORM DETECTED

INDENTIFY

PRIMARY WEAPON SYSTEMS CHARGING

INCAPACITATE AND RETURN TO BASE

Even if he had understood a word any of the robots were saying, Ray was far from able to answer them. His entire body became locked with fear, unsure whether run or scream. He settled on neither, only staring in horror as each robot's arm cannon began charging with a chorus of high-pitched whines.

The young squirrel wasn't sure what to be more shocked about: that he couldn't even find the strength to move when it counted most. That the great Sonic the Hedgehog had just willingly shoved him into harm's way without a moment's thought. That he was going to be toast right then and there, unceremoniously obliterated in the middle of an empty street.

…or that the entire back line of swatbots had just toppled over like dominoes.

Ray blinked, not sure what had just happened. Within a split second, every robot in the squad was completely caught off-guard, either spinning and whining at each other in utter confusion or being knocked over or sliced open by a familiar blue streak of light.

Just as quickly as it had begun, it was over, and a triumphant-looking blue hedgehog was soon standing over a pile of junk metal, tossing a busted swatbot head over his shoulder.

"Wow," Sonic said, looking over his handiwork below his feet. "Twelve swatbots in…" he paused, raising an eyebrow as he pondered his actions, "…five seconds? New record, baby! Eh?" He grinned as he looked at Ray, his hand outstretched to invite a high-five. "Right? Don't leave me hangin' Ray!"

"I—y-you—" Ray squeaked, his body refusing to relax from its perpetual state of paralysis. "What's wr-wrong with you?!" he finally sputtered, tears once again gathering in his eyes.

Sonic lowered his hand, a slight frown on his face. "Geez, Ray. How fast did you want me to smash 'em?"

"Wh-why did you do that to me?"

"To distract 'em, of course," he replied, shifting his weight to one side and tapping his foot impatiently. "Genius, right? You made them focus on you for a second, then I ran behind them without any noticing and kicked 'em right in the gearboxes!" He paused, lifting his right hand to stroke his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, maybe I'll have to scrap that one. Got the job done lickety-split, but it's just no fun while their backs are turned. Maybe if I—"

"Th-they," cried Ray, his voice growing softer as his gaze lowered to the pavement, "they could've sh-shot m-m-me…"

"Yeah, but they _didn't_," Sonic laughed, balling his hands into fists and shoving them onto his hips, "so no biggie! Lighten up, dude!"

"B-but what if… wh-what if…"

"Ray," sighed Sonic, "you can't live your life on 'what-ifs.' Just cut loose every once in a while!" He took a step forward, wagging his finger slightly. "What's the point of bein' alive without a few risks? What's work without fun? Y'get me?"

Ray sniffed hard, rubbing an arm over his closed eyelids. "I…" he sniffed again, nearly getting mucus all over his fur. "I g-guess…" But the young hedgehog failed to see that the trembling refused to stop.

"That's more like it!" Sonic stood up straight, his head swiveling as he surveyed the street. "So where to now?"

Ray pointed a shaking finger at a nearby building with a rusty metal ladder, stretching skyward until it nearly disappeared from their sight before it ended at the roof. "Up th-there," Ray whispered. "Another v-vent on the r-r-rooftop… sh-shouldn't b-be much further…"

Sonic groaned. "I always kinda hated heights…" he drew in a deep breath. "All right, Ray," he exclaimed, stepping forward and gripping the ladder's third-lowest rung.

"Time to juice."

* * *

**A/N: As always, I like feedback. A lot. Thank you all for your viewership so far... it does not go unappreciated!  
**


	13. Feed the Machine

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Feed the Machine" is the property of RED.**** I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Feed the Machine

_CLANG!_

Sonic growled, recoiling his leg back as he prepared to strike the vent cover again.

_CLANG!_

Of all the metal junkheaps he had dealt with in just the past week, knocking down a rusty, disfigured ventilation grate from the inside just _had_ to be his biggest problem so far. To top it off, he barely got more than a wink of sleep while sneaking through a duct for the past night, the shaft he was crawling through was much too tight, his crawlspace turned into a complete upward slant that nearly send him and Ray tumbling to the bottom more than once, and the very atmosphere around them was starting to deteriorate into a foul-smelling gaseous sludge. Needless to say, he was ticked, and it was high time he got some fresh air.

**_CRASH!_**

The good news was his incessant kicking had finally dislodged the stubborn vent cover. The bad news was that as soon as he and his companion stepped into the waking morning sun, he realized that "fresh air" had become a very relative term.

Were they still in the city? Maybe, but at the moment, "evil lair" seemed to better fit the bill.

They stood on a rooftop on the edge of a sprawling steel metropolis. Towering factories, smog spewing chimneys, and twisted metal radio towers stretched toward the heavens as they stood silhouetted against the blood-red morning sky. The air was thick with smoke and ash, the streets flooded with sewage and other machine waste; all byproducts of the deadly pollution that Robotnik's factories churned out of their bowels. The entire climate was completely different from the rest of the island—the mad doctor must have been occupying the area for quite a long time, right under everyone's noses. It was no wonder his invading robots were so overwhelmingly numerous.

Robotnik must have been at this mess for months. How long had he forced his prisoners to endure this?

Sonic opened his mouth to speak and immediately coughed, his lungs not acclimated to the atmosphere. "How-" he asked Ray, briefly pausing to clear his throat, "how much further?"

"Not too far," Ray replied, his voice still small. He gave a small cough as well, and then turned to the hedgehog. "S-sonic?"

His companion didn't move as he continued to take in the sights before him, but Ray saw his ear twitch in acknowledgement.

"Y-you're still going to help me, r-right?"

Sonic didn't answer. In all honesty he hadn't given it any additional thought yet, still too focused on Robotnik to care. Now, though, looking at the state of things…

INTRUDER ALERT

ANOMALY DETECTED IN SECTOR 3

DEFENSIVE PARAMETERS ACTIVATED

INCAPACITATE THE INTRUDERS

Both Mobians jumped at the sound of the alert, alarms blaring and spotlights spinning all around them within a matter of seconds. They glanced at each other for a moment, and then took off, suddenly finding themselves jumping across rooftops and dodging gunfire from the swatbots below.

"Was this your plan, Ray?" Sonic couldn't help but quip a few minutes later as he barely jumped over a plume of fire being belched out by a busted pipe in the ground. "I think the locals are gettin' restless!"

"H-how is this m-m-my fault?" the terrified boy cried, spreading his arms wide and gliding over a short gap between rooftops using the skin under his arms.

"Just shut up and run—WOAH!"

The gap between the building they were on and the building they were headed to had suddenly become _way_ too large for them to jump, so he had no choice but to force his worn-out shoes to skid to a halt before he could careen over the edge. He let out a quick grunt of impatience as he heard Ray run to his side.

"Th-that's the place, r-right there," he said dejectedly, pointing to the factory rooftop in front of them.

Sonic cursed under his breath. "Of _course_." Now what were they supposed to do? The swatbots were going to close in on them any second and it wasn't like a bridge was going to just appear out of thin air-

"AAH!"

Sonic jumped back about a foot when a thick steel platform materialized right in front of him, just within a jump's reach. His euphoria over finding a way across was short-lived, however, as the platform disappeared seconds later. _Some kind of invisibility?_ He wondered. _Another trap? This guy's gotta be the most paranoid-_

"S-sonic! They're c-c-coming!" Ray shouted, pointing at a spot behind them.

Sonic whipped his head around, spotting the squad of swatbots creeping over the edge of the building they were standing on and shouting all manner of robotic nonsense at their targets. He had to think fast. Looking back at the gap between them and the factory in front of them, Sonic could see that there were actually a number of platforms flickering in and out of existence in a seemingly random pattern, staying visible just long enough to land, find another platform, and jump. Maybe they could still get across…

"You first!" Sonic barked, smacking Ray on the shoulder. "I can take care of these guys!"

"W-what?" Ray exclaimed, but Sonic zoomed off before the boy could shout another word of protest. His nerves nearly shattered, Ray gritted his teeth and leaped onto the nearest platform. No sooner did his shoes hit steel than did the platform begin to flicker and move. Panicking, he jumped again, spotting another platform just below him that he easily glided to. It quickly became a heart-racing routine: jump, land, look, glide. All he could do was hope he would reach the next ledge and that his friend was right behind him.

Finally, his exhausted feet found the edge of the building, basking in the feel of a solid, unmoving structure. He looked over his shoulder, calling Sonic's name, only to find a pile of robot scrap lying in a heap on the roof he had come from, with not a soul in sight.

His confusion soon turned into panic when he heard a familiar mechanic whine behind him. Slowly he turned, finding himself looking down a barrel of a swatbot arm laser.

SUSPECT IN CUSTODY

PREPARING TO-

Then he was gone.

Ray was still for a split-second, unsure of how such a large robot could have disappeared into thin air like that. He _thought_ he'd seen a flash of blue light, but…

The sight of Sonic standing to his right over a broken swatbot with an ominous hole in its chest (complete with a fleeing yellow Flicky) answered his question.

The hedgehog grinned, his familiar arrogance working his way back into his features as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the grate behind him. "So do you wanna knock first, or should I do it?"

* * *

After another half-hour of crawling through vents, they were in.

Sonic glanced around the hallway he landed in, hearing Ray hit the floor behind him with a loud _THUNK_. "No 'bots," he observed aloud. "I guess he didn't expect anyone to make it this far."

"L-let's try that door!" Ray squeaked, running towards the ominous-looking door in front of them. Like everything else in the Scrap Brain, it looked heavily enforced. Sonic figured he'd have to break it down. He took a deep breath—this was gonna hurt.

"Stand back, dude," he said, taking a few steps back. "Time to crack this sucker wide open." He paused, clenching his fists firmly to his sides. Then, with a running start, he leaped into the air and curled himself into a furious spin attack, bracing himself for the inevitable collision-

-just to feel himself crash into the floor again.

He uncurled and found himself looking into a darkened room with odd shapes covering the walls. Ray gave a shout of surprise from the hallway behind him. _Did the door just open on its own?_

"That's far enough, _rodent_."

That voice…

The room was suddenly filled with a strange light, its brightness causing Sonic to unconsciously shield his eyes. Blinking away the black spots dotting his sight, he was soon vaguely aware of two powerful-looking blaster turrets whirring to life behind him, along with Ray screaming his name among more sounds of grinding gears.

"Excellent work, Unit S-11," he heard Robotnik casually praise. "Please, bring the young squirrel to me."

Sonic shook his vision into focus, forcing himself to look up. Robotnik was standing at a large control panel, a triumphant grin on his face. Behind him were the strange shapes he had noticed in the darkness—with the lights on, he could now see that they were in fact a number of small, spherical pods bunched together, filled with an eerie purple glow. Sonic didn't have time to count them all—there had to have been thousands.

What caught his attention most was the metal creature clanking its way into Sonic's line of vision. As his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he let out a strangled gasp as he drank in every detail of his shocking new foe.

It was a rough metal replica of… _him_. Towering roughly a foot above him, it sported dull yellow propulsion jets on it legs, cobalt blue armor protecting its body, piercing spikes on the back of its head, and sickeningly sharp-looking claws for fingers, which were now firmly gripping a kicking and screaming Ray by the arms.

Robotnik cackled. "What can I say," he said gleefully, patting the robot on its head affectionately, "I was inspired! Allow me to introduce Swatbot Special Unit S-11. Otherwise known as Mecha Sonic." The robot's eyes immediately flashed in acknowledgement, offering the impression of a menacing glare.

"You," Sonic snarled as he struggled to rise to his feet. "You sick-"

"Language, rodent!" the doctor sneered. He gestured to the pods behind him. "We wouldn't want to embarrass ourselves in front of your peers, now… would we?"

And then he saw them. Within the soft purple glow of the pods, Sonic could just make out the shapes of every Mobian on South Island. Each and every one of them was pounding, kicking, crying, or shouting at the top of their lungs, their cries muted by the walls of their suffocating prisons.

"Say hello to my Egg Vineyard," Robotnik proudly announced. "This marvelous creation of mine is what powers this entire city… much like the harvesters within each of my robots, only on a much grander scale." He began pacing across the room, once again carried away with his own brilliance. "The process is simple: my robots collect all the lifeforms needed to power my army and city. Smaller creatures make suitable energy sources for my swatbots and badniks, while the stronger Mobians are used as fuel for my Egg Grapes to salvage. Now, with so many helpless Mobians captured, my precious city will continue to flourish for years! Perhaps decades! With all the pillaging my armies have done, it will take no time at all for me to conquer this pathetic planet, with nothing but time on my hands and robotic servants to do my bidding! And when that day comes… oh, when that day comes…" The maniacal scientist rubbed his hands together as he chortled uncontrollably, his eyes and toothy grin dripping with sadistic mirth.

Sonic and Ray watched the entire display wordlessly, the doctor's madness having stunned them into speechlessness.

"S-so," Ray spoke first, silent tears streaking his cheeks as Mecha Sonic tightened its hold on his arms, "th-that empty city we p-p-passed on the way here…"

Dr. Robotnik bent over to look Ray in the eye menacingly. "How do you think I powered this city when I first got here?"

"Shut it, you freak!"

Both squirrel and alien looked up, startled. Sonic was still crouched over on one knee, prepared to pounce as his every muscle trembled with rage.

"You invade _my_ island… try to lock me and _my_ neighbors up… make your stupid robots march around _my_ home like you freakin' own the place…" He locked his eyes on Robotnik's, a furious emerald fire burning within his eyes. "And you think you can make me look like a sissy and just walk away?!" he snarled as he rose to his feet. "I swear, I'm gonna-"

"Ah-ah-ah," Robotnik warned, lifting a finger at Sonic, "I wouldn't if I were you." Sonic could vaguely hear the turrets behind him click and whirr threateningly at his every move. "These heat-seeking auto turrets will vaporize you the moment you take a step forward," he explained, all humor gone from his voice. "You would be wise to think twice about striking me in this room."

"You forget who you're talking to, doc?" Sonic shot back, unflinching in the face of the doctor's threats. "I can outrun any of your oversized tin cans any day of the week!"

"Perhaps so, but we are in an enclosed area, Sonic. You _have_ nowhere to run. And besides," Robotnik continued, the victory in his voice now making itself more apparent, "even without the turrets, Mecha Sonic will make short work of you. He has been specifically designed to match you in both strength and speed. Only a genius such as myself could have calculated your abilities in a few measly encounters… and you know that."

"Gimme a break! You think that hunk of junk can take me on? How fast did you have to throw that pathetic thing together anyway?"

"As if that matters! If you think my latest and greatest creation could not easily tear apart a insignificant rat such as you…"

"_I'M A **HEDGEHOG**_!"

Without another word, Sonic curled himself into a furious spin, using the traction between his quills and the floor to hold him in place as he built momentum. Before Robotnik or his turrets had any time to react, the hedgehog launched himself into the nearest turret, blowing it into smithereens and using the explosion as extra thrust to bounce into the other turret before it could swing into position. With his biggest threats down, he wasted no time in skidding along the floor and hurling himself at Robotnik.

He didn't get far before feeling himself getting knocked aside, flying through the air in a still-spinning ball of quills. He couldn't see to clearly in his position, but he got the gist of what had happened: his robotic doppelganger had jumped to its master's rescue and smacked Sonic away with a swipe of its powerful arm.

As it turned out, the move backfired on the doctor completely. Instead of being painfully slammed into a wall, Sonic was launched right into one of the Egg Grapes, shattering it into thousands of purple glass shards in the blink of an eye. The impact didn't feel too pleasant, but he still was able to slow his momentum down enough to curl out of his spin attack and land on the wall with his feet. Among the commotion, he clearly heard a shout of protest from the doctor, a sound that immediately put a familiar smirk on his face. Inspired, he sprang from the wall and threw himself back into a spin.

In no time at all, Sonic was a living blue pinball, turning the room into a chaotic mess of blue flashes, crumbling glass and falling Mobians. Robotnik could do nothing but hold his head in disbelief as his precious creation was reduced to piles of shrapnel within a matter of seconds. He turned to Mecha Sonic.

"I'm going to go on ahead," he ordered. "Shut that hedgehog down and bring him to me! _Alive_!" He gritted his teeth in rage. "Then gather any available swatbots and re-capture the prisoners."

Mecha Sonic's eyes flashed as it received its commands.

ACKNOWLEDGED

At last, Sonic let himself drop to the floor, scanning the crowd of confused-but-finally-free Mobians littering the large room, trying to collect themselves as they chattered to each other:

"What just happened-?"

"Are we free?"

"_Sonic_?"

"What's that kid doing here?"

"SONIC!"

The hedgehog ignored them all, trying to find Robotnik among the crowd. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the tail end of a familiar red coat disappear through the doorway out of the Egg Vineyard.

"_MOVE IT!_"

Nearly every ex-prisoner in the room jumped about a foot in the air as Sonic bellowed at them and sped through the crowd in a blinding blue light. His already-short temper was further agitated as Robotnik's cheap copy of him leaped out of nowhere and landed in front of the door, cutting off his pursuit.

_I do **not** have time for this!_

He easily dodged Mecha Sonic's attacks—right haymaker, left hook—before crouching on all fours and giving the robot a swift kick to the knee joints, causing it to stumble to the ground. Immediately he took off, bursting through the doorway and racing down the cold metal corridor, leaving the freed Mobians behind.

It didn't take long before he heard an ominous-sounding jet engine behind him—no doubt Mecha Sonic in pursuit. Sonic turned the next corner and put on some more speed, hearing his pursuer fade further and further behind him as they gave chase through the hallways. He couldn't help but grin to himself. Robotnik talked big, but there was no replacing the genuine article.

With the speed he was putting on, there was no doubt in his mind that he would catch up to his enemy soon… but it turned out to be far too soon.

A glowing red wall appeared roughly fifty yards in front of him without warning, forcing him to skid to a halt. Annoyed, he started to head the other way, only to realize that the same roadblock was behind him, too. _Trapped? What is this?_

"_Have a nice swim, rodent._"

His answer came in the form of another one of Robotnik's traps: a cackling voice over the intercom, the floor beneath him disappearing, and his hands grasping for air as he fell into darkness once again.


	14. Sink or Swim

**Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks,** **locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and ****Naoto Oshima.** **"Sink or Swim" is the property of Falling in Reverse. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.**

* * *

Sink or Swim

_Not. Freakin'. Again!_

_***SPLASH!***_

Darkness enveloped him as soon as he hit the water, everything feeling weightless and uncontrolled as his body recovered from the shock of the fall. His arms instinctively flailed around him, propelling him upward to the surface for a much-needed breath of air. He blinked away the water in his eyes as he tried to adjust to the sudden darkness around him.

Almost darkness, anyway. The eerie violet glow reflecting off of the walls around him was barely enough to see in, but he was able to spot a way out of the pool he was treading in just above him, one that he was all too glad to grab onto and climb up.

Shaking himself dry as he felt the comfort of solid ground, he bent over on his knees and tried to steady his breathing. Water trickled down his nose, dripping onto his soggy gloves and leaving yet another dark splotch on the fabric. Every inch of his skin and fur felt damp with filthy, freezing water, causing his every move to send a chill through his spine. At that moment, his entire world felt nothing but cold, dark, and soggy.

By now, he was feeling _really_ tired of falling down holes. Enough was enough.

_"Have you ever considered slowing down once in a while, Sonic? Perhaps then you would be able to see where you're going…"_

Given his track record so far, Sonic was starting to begrudgingly admit that Nate was probably right. About everything.

Well, despite where he was now, Sonic figured he had one thing going for him: Nate and the rest of South Island were safe now thanks to him. At least, more safe than they were five minutes ago. He briefly wondered where they were now.

As he tried to pull himself together, he looked around him. It was an all-too familiar feeling; the corridor he was in was narrow and claustrophobic, the water felt slimy and cold on his skin, and the walls were covered in strange, unreadable hieroglyphics. There was no mistaking it: for some reason he'd found himself back in the underground Labyrinth.

With the ceiling hanging low above him and nothing but a wide pool of dark-tinted water behind him, there was nowhere to go but forward, down the giant marble steps that descended further into the darkened corridors. It should have been a simple few steps forward, but for whatever reason, despite having been down in the labyrinths before, something about this place made his stomach churn and his quills stand up on their ends.

He suddenly _had_ to get out of there. Now.

He started running, going two, three steps at a time down the stairs. The dim light of the corridors grew fainter, but it was still enough to see when the path started branching out in every direction, earning an exasperated sigh from the hedgehog. _This again..._

_"You think you're untouchable, don't you?"_

He felt himself grimace, his mouth stretching into a thin line and his eyes narrowing as he took off down the corridor to his left.

_"All this running around, all your boasting, all that inexplicable anger you feel… you just consider yourself invincible, is that it?"_

Each of his steps became heavier, his fists clenching beside him, the frown on his face molding into a childish scowl as they threatened to unleash an infuriated scream. All sound began to melt away around him as the doctor's voice echoed within the corridors, everything fading away into white noise.

_"I knew you were finally getting serious when you finally stopped cracking your inane little quips…"_

Ears pounding, silence beginning to swallow him whole, just gotta make it around this next bend…

_"…I knew I may have upset you, but I never knew you would be so petty over it…"_

Wait… the white noise… growing louder…?

_"I'm worth twelve of you, rodent. If you thought an inferior species such as yourself could outsmart my genius, well…"_

It wasn't white noise. This churning sound… this rushing sensation he could feel in _the air…_

_"You think you're so much better than I am? You think you cannot be beaten?"_

_**Running water…**_

_"Well, now. I have just the thing to test that theory."_

**_*CLICK*_**

Sonic snapped his head around. To his horror, he saw exactly what he was expecting: the corridor behind him was quickly being flooded with a quickly-advancing wave of water. Suddenly, he knew exactly why he had been so on edge since falling into Robotnik's trap.

He picked up the pace down the tunnel, arms clenched at his sides as he tore through the

Labyrinth. Though he had been going at a pretty decent clip before, there was now desperation with every split-second step, one that had even him a little surprised. He loved going fast, but he couldn't remember the last time he felt the need to resort to… whatever _this_ was.

It seemed to hardly matter now, though. No amount of speeding up seemed to stop the water from creeping up to him and lapping against his sneakers threateningly. Still, he thought he could keep ahead as long as he didn't run into…

…a wall.

He skidded to a halt before his face crashed into the dead end before him, and for the first time in his life, he froze, completely at a loss for what to do.

**_*SSSPLAAASSSHH!*_**

All too soon, he was back underwater. This time though, it was impossible to fight the current sucking him under as the water level rose higher and higher, lifting him above the towering ledge he had run into. All around him, the cursed liquid swirled and turned, knocking him around the labyrinth walls and carrying him to who-knew-where.

It was more terrible than he ever could have dreamed. Scampering around the underground maze in still water for hours on end was uncomfortable enough. Being flushed through the corridors with no end in sight was indescribable. He couldn't breathe. It was far too dark to see. His sense of direction had been shattered the moment he got caught in the current. There were no air bubbles to bail him out this time. Whatever courage he had carried into the Labyrinth with him was now gone.

Sonic had always put on a brave face through life. After everything he had been through to survive for 12 short years, he bragged to everyone he knew that nothing could possibly scare him, so much so that he even began to believe it. After all, for every time a local patrolman caught him tagging a wall or hiding in a barrel, every robot he had ever took aim at him, every bath his parents tried to get him to take, there was always such a simple solution. It became his mantra, even. Run fast enough and soon the world's problems will fall behind. All the running in the world wouldn't save him now.

_So cold… Mom… it's so cold…_

His limited vision began to darken ever further as his lungs gasped for oxygen. The current didn't seem to care, keeping him held under the surface despite his best efforts. At this point he was so lost that he wasn't sure where the surface even was, or if it even _existed_ anymore. Every muscle in his body started to slow, his energy nearly spent. At long last his exhausted cheek muscles gave way, causing him to release the hold he had on his breath and send a swarm of miniature air bubbles fly from his lips… and the irony was not lost on him.

So this was how it would end.

…or not.

His feet finally found a foothold on a corner of a ledge, and he wasted no time. In a burst of strength that was just shy of miraculous, he sprang from the ledge in the direction he felt was closest to "up," shot through the water, and broke through the surface. One miracle later, and he landed in a heap on the one ledge that didn't seem to be submerged underwater. He coughed, gagged, sputtered, and retched as he fought to expunge all the water in his lungs and replace it with glorious oxygen. He was breathing. He was alive.

He took one ragged breath after another, trying to shake his fur dry and rid his body of any evidence that it had been touching that vile, vile substance. He shook, trashed, and smacked his left ear to rid his other one of water, but he didn't dare stand back up. He wanted to lie on this precious, uncomfortable block of marble, safe and sound, for the rest of eternity. Anything to never touch water again.

Judging by the ever-growing sound of rushing water flooding closer and closer, however, lying still would hardly fulfill that dream. No time to rest, then.

So he found himself once again running faster than he ever had in his life, ducking and dodging a surprise spike trap here and there. And for once, he found no thrill in feeling the wind blowing through his quills, no rush of adrenaline from dodging traps or seeing the flash of hieroglyphs pass by, and no masochistic satisfaction from feeling his every muscle burn from exertion. His earlier vengeance towards Robotnik was now a distant memory, no longer quickening his pace through determination. All that mattered—what he_ needed_—was to get as far away from this place as physically possible. The only question was _how._

He found his answer in the unassuming red springboard lying coiled on the ground in the middle of the corridor beneath a sizable, seemingly endless opening in the Labyrinth ceiling. With a leap, he threw all his weight on it without a moment's thought, hearing a familiar _**SPROING!**_ echo throughout the labyrinth as he felt himself soar upwards to freedom.


End file.
